Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run
by Darth Sygnious
Summary: Uzumaki Naruko is on the run. Having escaped Konoha, her life and dreams are now in shatters. Follow Naruko as she must find a new purpose to live for, making new friends on the way while being hunted by Konoha. Fem. Naruto, Strong Naruko
1. Shattered

**Author's Notes:**

**I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters**

**The backstory leading up to the story will have similarities to canon, but there will also be some important differences. These will be revealed in flashbacks as the story progresses.**

**Different communication and thought patterns:**

"Human speaking"

_'Human thinking'_

**"Bijuu speaking"**

_**'Bijuu thinking'  
**_

**Thanks to Vandar93 and Windninja1000 for beta reading.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run**

**Chapter 1: Shattered**

Uzumaki Naruko. Once she was a proud ninja that dreamt of becoming the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. The Hokage was the greatest ninja in Konoha. First it was for being acknowledged. Then it was in order to protect her precious friends. Now however, the case was something else. She was slowly walking through the woods, panting and exhausted. Behind her were the bodies of four Konoha ninjas. She had killed them. She had no choice, if any of them had lived and returned, they would pinpoint her location and more ninjas would be on her tail soon. The next time she would probably not win, not in this condition.

It was not what she wanted. Having to kill ninjas from her own home village was horrible. But it had to be done. She could not afford any hesitation. This was self-defense, but Konoha would look upon it differently.

The 14 year old girl looked up as she felt water drops begin to hit her face. The sky was dark and rain finally began pouring down. It would probably be more difficult to track her in this weather. _'__Does it really matter? Does anything matter anymore?'_ she thought to herself. She looked over her shoulder, back at the bodies. They were three chuunin and one jounin. She knew that she would be a top-priority target, and that mid- and high-level ninja would be looking for her, because she was carrying Kurama inside her. Had it been any other genin from the Konoha 12, Konoha would not have put the same effort in tracking down that person. But of course Konoha would not risk losing the Kyuubi no Kitsune from their hands, it was the most powerful bijuu in the world after all. She was able to shake off a lot of ninjas using the Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. She had created hundreds of clones, before having them running off at every direction. Kurama had also helped by boosting some of these, making them faster and more durable, in order to fool several ninjas to believe that they were following the real one. Still this group had managed to track down the real one.

What they had not prepared for, however, was Naruko's full strength. For years she had in secret trained with Kurama in order to use his power, and now she went all out against them. Likely the jounin would be able to fight evenly against her, that's why she took him out first by surprise, as she quickly pierced his chest and his heart with her bright orange glowing arm. The three chuunin didn't fare any better, they were no match for her. But with power comes a price. In Naruko's case, using Kurama's power would drain her more quickly. This would depend on her skill, how she used his power, and for how long, but going full out against a full ninja squad after being on the run for hours had drained her. Not to mention what she just had been through. Been through? Or maybe this was just the start? It was hell anyway.

She turned her head forward, and began walking again, slowly. She was breathing hard of the exhaustion, while the different memories began going through her head.

_'My dream is to become the Hokage!'_

_'I will be Hokage and I get acknowledge by everyone!'_

_'Naruko-Baka, Sasuke-kun is mine!'_

_'Sit down Sasuke, let's talk, as we always have'_

_'I will protect Sakura and Sasuke!'_

_'I don't know why… but I understand your feelings so much it actually hurts!'_

_'After I become Hokage, I'll change Hyuga for you!'_

_'I want to fight you too'_

_'Ne, Naruko? Has Sasuke said anything about me?'_

_'Under this mask is another mask! ^^'_

_'Because Hokage is my dream!'_

Naruko began breathing faster and faster. As the memories flashed through, a pain like she never had felt before grew. She clutched her head.

_'Sasuke, you are my best friend!'_

_'Sakura, you are my friend too!'_

_'Hinata? You want some cinnamon buns?'_

_'GODAIME HOKAGE?!'_

She had fallen on her knees at this point. Tears had begun streaming down her face.

_'Sakura!'_

_'Sasuke!'_

_'Tsunade-baachan!'_

_'Hokage is my dream!'_

She couldn't take it anymore. She let a scream out against the sky. Then another one as she again clutched her head, swinging her head back and forth.

_'STOP THIS!'_ she cried out inside as she wailed! _'I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THIS! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THEM!'_

"WHY?!…" was the last she screamed out before she finally collapsed down. She was lying on her back. The rain poured on her body, while her tears ran down her face. She was lying still. Just staring up the dark sky. There was nothing left. Nothing to live for.

_'I will never see any of my friends again'_she thought. _'I will never see Kakashi-sensei again. Tsunade-no-Baachan and Shizune-neechan. I will never become Hokage. I will never again see… Sasuke…'_

Of all her friends he had been the closest.

_'Sasuke… Why couldn't you believe me? Kakashi didn't believe me. Even Tsunade didn't… Why?'_ she thought bitterly as she wept.

_'Everything is gone. Everything I had to live for is gone. No one believed me. No one stood with me. No one… No more friends. No more dreams. I have nothing…'_

She kept lying there, staring upwards at nothing particularly. The rain was pouring down on her. But she didn't feel it. She felt nothing. Everything was distant. She said nothing. Didn't move. She was just lying there, waiting for darkness to come and take her away.

**"Kit…"** a voice inside her said. She didn't respond. **"Naruko"** the voice said again, getting no response. **"Naruko!"** he shouted! _'__What?'_ she whispered back in her mind.

**"You need to get up and move. If you keep lying here, someone is bound to find you."**

_'Kurama…'_

**"Move"** he ordered.

_'What does it matter? I have nothing left to live for.'_

Kurama sighed inside her mind.

**"Look, I know this is very difficult for you right now. Even I did not see all this coming. But it won't be any better if you keep lying here."**

Naruko said nothing back.

**"You need to keep moving. It is bad right now, but it does not mean things won't be better in time."**

_'Oh really?!'_ she snapped back. _'Who is going to stay by my side now? You know what the hardest part of growing up in Konoha was? No friends to play with! Yes, I had you, and I am grateful for everything you have done for me, but I have lost everyone else! I will be hunted by ANBU, always on the run, there will be no one else to back me up or walk with me, and how can I even live a decent life, if not my dreams? Everything I have struggled for until now has been for nothing!'_ Tears kept flowing out of her eyes. _'What's the point…'_

**"Naruko, listen. Ever since you were a small child, you have been fighting and giving your best in order to reach your dream. That dream may be gone, but you have always been a fighter, and the Naruko I know does not go down without a fight. You have given all to prove yourself to those around you. To your friends and to those who would glare at you. Whether you proved yourself or not, you never gave up. Whenever I gave you a hard training session, you always gave your best. You kept going until you were satisfied with the results, mastered a new jutsu, or had improved another one. Didn't that toad sage say that the most important thing is having the guts to never give up? I know you. You never gave up before, and you will not give up now!"**

Naruko said nothing. Kurama continued:

**"Naruko, what about me? I'm still with you. I know that you are innocent. It will not convince Konoha, but you know where you have me at. And I care for you, and for what happens to you. More than I first intended. Are we not friends? Isn't our friendship important to you as well?"**

Still no response.

**"Naruko, please! If not for yours, then at least for my sake!"**

Naruko lied still for a moment, then finally responded:

"Kurama… Did you just plead?"

**"I don't have much of a choice now, do I?"**

"Probably not" Naruko chuckled, sadly.

_'But what I am supposed to do now? I can't go back, and I have no idea what to do, or where to go.'_

**"We will deal with that when the time comes. For now, keep moving away from Konoha, before any other tracking squads find you. Create some Kage Bunshin so that whatever remaining smell of that blood stain from those ninjas can be spread out."**

Naruko got herself out. She was soaked wet from the rain, but couldn't bother about it right know. She made the clone seal, saying: "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and created several clones that spread out immediately.

_'Kurama?'_

**"What?"**

_'Thank you.'_

**"Anytime, kit"** the fox smiled back.


	2. Different eyes

**Author's Note:**

**I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.**

**In case you haven't noticed, the final version of chapter 1 is also posted. Though the differences from the previous draft are minimal. Just to have it clear: That was the only time I would post a draft first, to test the website.**

******The backstory leading up to the story will have similarities to canon, but there will also be some important differences. These will be revealed in flashbacks as the story progresses.**

**Different communication and thought patterns:**

"Human speaking"

_'Human thinking'_

**"Bijuu speaking"**

_**'Bijuu thinking'**_

******Thanks to Vandar93 and Windninja1000 for beta reading.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run**

**Chapter 2: Different eyes**

A few days had gone by. Naruko figured that she was somewhere far west in the Land of Fire, not far from the borders. Though she could not pay too much attention at it when she ran away from Konoha, she had a fair idea of which direction she was headed. Studying the stars at night when the sky was clear helped clarify that. Star navigation was not widely taught at the Academy, but Kurama had taught her the basics, thinking it could prove invaluable one day. Oh, how much he was right.

Naruko had to keep on constant move in order to avoid trackers. Not to mention that she had to keep changing directions to shake them off. At least she had to try, she was not the most well-seasoned forest traveler when it came to hiding her tracks. Especially if in a hurry. But the use of Kage Bunshin came in handy: If she could not cover all her tracks, then at least she could create false leads, confusing the trackers.

The talk Kurama had with Naruko the first night had helped her find resolve to keep moving, but it would not be the first time Naruko needed him to comfort her. Whenever she needed to rest, her memories would easily come back to her. She would cry herself to sleep, as she was mourning her loss. Asking herself why anyone couldn't believe her.

Sleep… That would be an insane move for anyone who was on the run. Especially if ANBU was likely among the pursuers. But in Naruko's case Kurama could keep watch for her. Despite being inside Naruko, Kurama still had the ability to sense around in the environment. It also helped that he was allowed to take control over a few of her clones that kept watching out for enemies while she slept. Anyone else would have to settle with easy rest in an awake state.

Food was another issue. She knew the basics in hunting and had some experience, but time was against her. She could not stay in the same area in the forest to hunt if she had to keep moving. And she had no knowledge whatsoever when it came to edible plants.

_'Why did you not teach me about what plants I can eat?'_ she asked him at one point.

**"Don't look at me. I'm a fox, we eat animals! How could I know that you had to settle with plants?"** he responded, causing her to sweat drop.

Kurama could juice her up with his chakra so that she could keep going, but in the long term she needed proper food.

Now she was following a trail she had found in the woods. Judging by the stars last night, it led southwest. She figured she would eventually end up in Land of Rivers if this trail continued on. So far it had lead deeper into the forest, and the trees were reaching sky high in this area. She could tell the difference between day and night though, and assumed it had to be somewhere at the middle of the day.

**"Kit, we're not alone!"** Kurama warned.

Naruko tensed up, ready to make a run for it. She would be able to sense her pursuers if she tapped into Kurama's chakra herself, but they agreed it would be best to save that for when it was needed, and let Kurama keep watch. At his signal, she would create Kage Bunshin and have them run off in all directions. Maybe even have a few of them fight the ninjas to stall them, or defeat them if possible.

**"Behind us. Wait, this feeling…"** Kurama mused.

**"I can sense the Ichibi's chakra"**

_'__Ichibi? Then that means…'_ she thought as the turned around.

Looking up in a distant tree, she spotted them. The sand siblings, standing on a thick branch. Sabaku no Gaara in the middle, with Kankuro to the left, and Temari to the right.

"Sabaku no Gaara" Naruko said.

"Uzumaki Naruko" Gaara replied back.

"We found you at last", Kankuro said, before they jumped down and landed in front of her.

Why were they here? Were they friends or foes? Last time she met them was at the chuunin exam, which turned into a full scale invasion combined of sand and sound ninjas. Naruko had battled Gaara, who moments earlier had taken down Sasuke and almost killed him. Even with limited use of the Kyuubi's powers, and Gamabunta at her aid, going up against the fully grown Shukaku was not an easy feat, and she had to give her all. The day was not a pleasant memory. Though she had saved Sakura and Sasuke, many people died that day. Including Hokage-jiji, who had been like a grandfather figure to her.

And now they were here. Was Sunagakure interested in her because she now was at hostile terms with Konoha? Or was it about revenge? Naruko had her eyes on them, and studied them. But as she looked at Gaara, she kept staring into his eyes, and she was… intrigued. She recognized the pain and sadness in his eyes, she had seen them before, and knew too well of that feeling herself. But she could swear that she was seeing something else. A spark? An eagerness to prove something, for someone? And where was the desire to kill?

"Your eyes are different" she remarked, smiling a bit.

"So are yours" Gaara replied, in his monotone voice.

Naruko could not help but having a sad face at this remark. No doubt that they could perceive how she was doing.

"Why are you here?" Naruko asked.

"Truth be told, Gaki, we were sent to capture you. Konoha requested it" Kankuro answered.

Naruko tensed up. "Wait, Konoha did? But didn't you betray Konoha?"

"We were only following orders… And we were deceived ourselves by Orochimaru" Temari responded.

Deceived by Orochimaru? So they were allies with Konoha once again? Naruko had heard the rumors that Suna and Konoha were negotiating about reestablishing the alliance, but she didn't know whether that was true or not.

She took a few steps back. She was not going down without a fight. Funny though, they didn't seem to be in any battle stance. Gaara was just standing there, with arms crossed. Kankuro was stretching his arms behind his head. Temari was resting her hands on her hip and her fan. If you were to capture someone, you would at least be ready to strike by now, Naruko mused. Perhaps they were trying a new method of talking someone into captivity? Gaara certainly had his ways with people, everyone knew that. No, there was something else. Kurama even added that he could not sense any hostility from them.

"Just what the hell happened, gaki?" Kankuro asked.

Naruko looked carefully at them. Could she trust them?

"Well…" she managed to say, before she was cut off by the loud growling from her stomach.

_'Huungryy!'_ was all Naruko could think, with a half-dead look in her face.

"Well, it sounds like your stomach could use some work" Kankuro chuckled.

"Let's make a camp fire over there" Temari said as she pointed to an open area among the nearby trees.

**- One hour later -**

While sitting around the camp fire, the sand siblings were staring in awe as Naruko was devouring all the food they gave her. They had extra food supplies for this mission. As a matter of fact most of the extra food they carried was intended for Naruko. Soldier pills, meat, instant vegetables, you name it. Baki or any of the other leaders didn't suspect a thing. As proper Suna Shinobi they were expected to be professional, and an advantage was that their leaders back home would not go controlling the contents of their backpacks for every single mission they got. In Gaara's case no one would have dared anyway. They would have settled for soldier pills themselves, but they knew that Naruko would surely appreciate a wider menu. Right now her speed and ferocity could have rivaled the Akimichi clan. Even Choji would have been put to shame.

They said nothing as she kept eating. But after finishing up, she started:

"So you said Orochimaru betrayed you guys?"

"Yeah", Temari responded.

"The body of the Kazekage and his guards was discovered out in the wasteland. Our leaders think he was killed before the exam".

"So Orochimaru and his men posed as the Kazekage and his guards?"

"Yes"

"Hmm… figures" Naruko said.

Thinking about it, she remembered Gaara mentioning the Kazekage being his father, back in the hospital when he tried to kill Rock Lee, and her and Shikamaru when they interfered.

She realized that these three siblings had lost their father to Orochimaru's hand, and that they were victims themselves.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your father" she said.

"I'm not" Gaara responded, while staring into the fire.

Naruko was creeped out by his statement, and looked at him shocked. What kind of boy would feel no remorse in losing his father? Oh yeah, the kind whose father tried to kill four times, Naruko remembered as she mentally slapped her own head.

"What about you?" Kankuro asked, "What happened?"

Naruko sighed.

"Long story short: I got accused, I had to run away, I got hunted. That's all there is to say."

"Really, is that all?" Temari asked, looking with suspicion at her. "Why won't you go into details? Perhaps you did it, and don't want to admit it?"

Naruko glared at her.

"What did Konoha tell you when they asked you to capture me?"

"Not much" Kankuro answered. "We haven't got much of the details. We don't know why you ran away, only that Konoha wants you back, badly."

"If you ask them for the details, and they share it… well, let's say that it was enough to even turn the Hokage against me."

Kankuro and Temari widened their eyes at hearing this. They had met Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, during a diplomatic mission to Konoha. Naruko was on a C-rank mission that lasted for weeks when they were there. Of course, unforeseen events bumped that mission up to A-rank. Typical her luck. She didn't know that the two siblings had been by her home village during this, neither did she know that Tsunade had boasted of her to these two, as if she was her grandchild. To hear that Tsunade had turned against her was shocking. Gaara's attention was also caught by this statement, though he would not show it as he was still staring into the campfire, with his emotionless face.

Naruko sighed. "Look. There is not much else I can say. I don't how I can convince you otherwise, once Konoha tells you everything".

_'Even Tsunade didn't believe me'_ she thought bitterly.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other. They didn't know her that well, neither did Gaara, but when they fought in the invasion they had seen a girl who was devoted to her friends and her village. Surely they couldn't imagine that she would be one to betray her comrades.

Kankuro spoke up: "We were supposed to capture you. We don't know why Konoha wants you, and frankly I don't care why. We were asked to cover this area of your Land of Fire, so I guess you were lucky that we were the ones who found you."

True, any other teams would have attacked her on sight.

"Konoha covers most of the other areas in this land, I hear that even ANBU are involved. Suna ninjas are scouting along the border areas of the Land of Wind to see if you have crossed our borders or not. Some of our teams are also searching in the Land of Rivers."

Naruko was silent for a moment, pondering about this, before she asked:

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Well…. we…" he answered. He couldn't find the right words, but looked over to Gaara, who met his and Naruko's gaze. After the invasion Gaara had changed. He no longer killed people at whim in Suna, and in fact he was determined to work hard and become someone whom others will respect. Kankuro and Temari felt that they owed Naruko big time. She had reached their lost brother when no one else could. Perhaps that was why he was telling all this. Somehow Naruko could tell this was the reason.

They sat around the camp fire in silence for a while. Then Gaara spoke up with his monotone voice:

"Kankuro, Temari, we're leaving."

"But Gaara" Kankuro said, "What about Naruko?"

They had a mission, but Kankuro was uncertain about what to do. Nothing of this made any sense. But if Gaara had made up his mind about something, at least he could excuse himself by claiming that going against his brother would be ill-advised.

"We're leaving her" he stated.

They rose up, and packed their equipment. Kankuro threw their last bag with spare food over to Naruko. At least she would have something to eat for a few more days, as long as she didn't devour it too soon. She looked as the sand siblings were walking away. They turned around and looked at her one last time. Gaara and Naruko looked at each other, and gave a nod.

"Take care, gaki" Kankuro said.

They jumped away into the high trees, and headed in direction for Suna.

Naruko looked at the ground, as the silence returned over the area. There was sadness in her eyes, but she managed to give a small smile.

_'Thank you, Gaara.'_

**- With the sand siblings -**

"You are sure about this, Gaara?" Temari asked? "You know we are failing the mission on purpose?"

"Don't worry, Baki can probably come up with something" Kankuro added. "And as long as we make up a good excuse, the elders won't bother us either. Besides, this is Konoha's problem, not ours."

"As long as they don't screw us over for this" Temari replied.

However, a few details bothered her.

"She was cryptic" she said.

"How so?" Kankuro asked, confused.

"She didn't deny doing anything wrong" she answered back. "Maybe she did do something after all, and doesn't want to admit it loud? Or maybe she has just given up"

"She didn't do it" Gaara stated, getting their attention.

"How do you know that?" Temari asked.

"Her eyes" Gaara said.

"Eyes?" Kankuro asked confused.

"Those are the eyes of one that has been betrayed and is afraid. Those are the eyes of one that has had her world torn down quickly" Gaara said.

"Whatever the Hokage may claim, a person who did a serious crime and tries to run away would not have those eyes".

_'I should know'_ Gaara thought to himself. _'I had the same eyes the moment Yashamaru betrayed me. But I quickly got the eyes of hatred after that night. Naruko, don't do the same mistake I did. You showed me that there is greater strength when fighting for those you love. You showed me that even we can find happiness. I will not have you showing me otherwise'_ he silently prayed inside.

"But that won't convince our council to let Naruko stay in Suna. We can't risk more problems with Konoha" Temari stated.

Not as long as she is a high-priority target. Which brought Temari to the next issued that bothered her:

"Why spend so much forces in tracking her down?" Temari mused. "I mean, she doesn't exactly seem like that dangerous person".

"Temari, don't be deceived" Gaara responded. "She's like me. A jinchuuriki."

Temari and Kankuro widened their eyes. She was like him? But as the thought sank in, it made sense. On one hand, she would be a powerful asset to whoever controlled her, whether that be Konoha or anyone else. No wonder Konoha poured so much resources into capturing her. On the other hand, if she is like Gaara she must have suffered at the hands of the villagers. Like Gaara did. They truly did understand each other more than anyone would imagine.

_'If what Gaara says is true'_ Temari thought, _'then it's too bad that we can't do anything to help her. Uzumaki Naruko… don't die!'_


	3. The Fox and the Brat

**Author's Note:**

**I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.**

**Chapters 3 and 4 were originally intended to be one chapter, but it got so big that I decided to split up into two. **

**********I'm very well aware that foxes are referred to as 'it', but since Kurama is a person, I will be referring to him as 'he'.**

**Different communication and thought patterns:**

"Human speaking"

_'Human thinking'_

**"Bijuu speaking"**

_**'Bijuu thinking'**_

**Thanks to Vandar93 and Windninja1000 for beta reading.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

******Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run**

**Chapter 3: The fox and the brat**

It was late evening. One could hear the sound of the night bugs in the forest. The air was moist and a bit cold, but not what Naruko could not handle. She had a gray blanket wrapped around her that the sand siblings had left her. Given that she only had a black t-shirt and orange pants when she ran away from Konoha, it helped her keep herself warm. She looked up to the skies, seeing the stars. _'Pretty'_ she thought. She liked looking at the stars at night. In times like this, one had to enjoy whatever beauties that were left in life. She was not exactly sure where she was, the Land of Fire had a lot of forest, but it was open enough for her to watch the skies. She looked down again on the small fire before her.

She was frying some rabbit meat on a stick, over a small camp fire. There was almost no food left from the supplies Gaara and his siblings had given her days ago. She had figured that she had been on the run long enough and must have shaken off most trackers, so she could spend some time hunting. She had found a brown rabbit, and threw a kunai straight at its head. It was regrettable though. Rabbits were cute, and it pained her a bit, having to do this. Hinata would surely have killed her for this if the circumstances had been more normal.

_'I wish I could have gone with Gaara' _she thought as she was looking at her stick with meat.

**"Kit, you know as well as I do, that even if he believes you there is not much he or his siblings could have done to convince Sunagakure to hide you. They would have been forced to hand you over to Konoha" **Kurama responded on her thought.

_'I know. I know…' _she sighed in her inside, sadly.

**"You got any ideas of what you will do, or where you will go?"**

_'Kurama, you read my thoughts all the time, and you have access to all my memories. If I had any good ideas, you would have known' _she spat back.

**"Don't talk to me like that, kit!" **he growled.

**"Besides, even though what you're saying is true, I still want to hear it from you."**

_'Sorry, Kurama.' _Naruko responded.

_'It's just… What do I do now? Where do I go now? Even if I get away and things calm down a bit, what I am supposed to do? I always dreamed of becoming the Hokage, and that was what I would work hard for.'_

A tear ran down her face.

**"I know, kit. I know."**

Naruko sighed, and wiped away the tear with her arm.

_'We should not be far away from the Land of Rivers. If Suna is covering that area, it could be safer there. Even if Suna is on Konoha's mercy and has orders to capture me, I still don't think their ninjas are as eager to get me as Konoha is.'_

**"Your idea makes sense, but be ready for anything in case you are wrong"**

_'Yeah. I thought about going to the Land of Waves and stop by Tazuna, but I bet Konoha would check that place. And I don't want to put Tazuna and his family in danger.' _

She took a bite of the fried meat. It wasn't that bad, but she could use some practice with her cooking skill. Still, if one is hungry enough everything will taste good.

_'I guess it's only you and me now, Kurama.'_

**"Yeah" **the fox agreed.

_'You remember the first time we met? I thought you were a big scary monster in a dream that would always come and visit me. Then I saw that you were friendly enough.'_

Kurama smirked at the memory. Good days. The only good memories that still was meaningful to her and her friend now.

**"Yeah, I do. It was nine years ago we first met, wasn't it? It was October the 10th, your birthday."**

_'Yeah'_

Most kids would wait with great anticipation for their birthdays. For her, October the 10th had been the darkest day of the year in her life when she was younger, as crowds would gather and hunt her down in order to 'finish what the Yondaime Hokage had begun'.

They sat there, as they dwelled on the memories they had about each other.

* * *

**Flashback**

**- Naruko, age 5 -**

It was that day. Normally she would receive glares and insults from the adults and occasional beatings from crowds the year around, but this day was much worse. The people celebrated the defeat of the Kyuubi no Yoko, and they would always go into hunting parties in order to 'finish what their beloved Hokage had started'. It had already been near fatal a few times before. Yet she seemed to recover from the worst possible damage, but she would always fear for her life. She would try a new hiding spot every time this day came, but for some reason they always found her. It seemed that some ninjas always assisted the crowd in finding her. And the ANBU guards that were supposed to protect her? Well, they were not reliable. Some would honor their task, while others just looked away.

She was hiding in a garbage container in a back alley, at a distant corner of the village. Last time she hid somewhere closer to the town center, and it didn't go well. She thought no one would find her this far away from the town center. And hiding in garbage? It stunk alright, but it was still better than being found. "She's here! The demon is hiding in this alley! In that garbage container over there!"

"What the?!" she shouted as she jumped out of the container and ran for her life. How did they find out?

"Die, demon!"

"Get the demon!"

"Kill her!"

Villagers were shouting as they ran after her. Naruko was quicker on her feet than others at her age. Having to run away from villagers many times would certainly train one's legs, but the villagers were faster. She fell as her head was hit from a club that was swung at her. The villagers gathered around her.

"We have her!"

"Kill the demon now!"

"Please!" she pleaded, "What did I do? Please don't kill me!"

Her plea fell on deaf ears, as they all kept beating her up. She lied curled in a fetal position, and covered her head with her arms to protect herself.

"Please!" she cried, as the beating continued, receiving hits after hits as the crowd cheered. They broke one of her legs. Her arms were bruised badly as she tried to protect her head. The hard kicks onto her stomach was simply unbearable.

Soon she lost consciousness, and the pain faded away as everything went into darkness. It lasted for a while, before she finally woke up.

_'A sewer?'_ she thought at she looked around. There was discolored water covering the ground, brick walls around her and pipes below the ceiling. Great, they must have tossed her into this stinking place after having her beaten her up. The funny thing was that she could not feel any pain to her body. In fact, she seemed fine. And the sewer didn't stink either.

_'A sewer that doesn't smell? That can't be a good sign'_ she thought to herself. She had to get out of here and find Hokage-jiji. If she could pass the crowds first...

The sewer was a long hallway, and she followed it. Soon, she saw an opening in the wall to the left. She could feel it, there was something in there, to the left. It felt like… something was calling her. She knew she had to get out, but her curiosity got the better of her.

After taking the turn to the left, she found herself in a giant room. She could see a gigantic caged gate before her.**  
**

_'What… What is this place?!'_ she asked herself. Then she noticed that something was behind the gate. Something was staring at her. She could see eyes in the darkness behind the gate. The light was dim, but enough for her to notice. Red eyes with slits. She was terrified of the sight. As she studied more deeply, she could see more forms of the creature behind the bars. It was… a giant beast. It looked some sort of a fox, but it was sooo big. The teeth looked really sharp, and it had many tails.

_'What are you?'_ she thought frightened. _'Is Konoha hiding a giant monster in its sewers?!'_

The giant fox said nothing. It was lying there, somewhat relaxed, with its head on its arms. It just kept staring at her, as if it was studying her.

It didn't last long however, as the vision before her faded rather quickly, and she woke up.

"Where am I" she asked, as she looked around. White ceiling, big white bed, her leg in a cast, bandages on her arms parts of her body. It was an all too familiar scene: she was in the hospital.

_'That giant fox'_ she thought to herself. _'It was only a dream.'_

She turned to a nearby nurse that was occupied with her paper clip board, and asked how long she was out. Two days, she was told. The nurse sent for the Hokage. Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, soon arrived.

"Leave us" he ordered, and the nurse left the room. He sat down with her.

"Naruko, how do you feel?" he asked.

In fact, she felt like crap. What had happened? As she thought about it, she remembered the night. The beating. The crowd attacking her. The pain. It was not as bad now, but unbeknownst to her she was nearly killed that night before the Hokage and his ANBU guards arrived. Naruko had an amazing ability to heal quickly, and from the worst wounds, but even after all this she was still sore two days after. Without her healing ability she would most likely have died.

As she remembered the night only one question came to her mind: "Why?"

The Hokage turned to her as he heard the question.

"Why do they always chase me? Why do they hate me? Why do they beat me up? What did I ever do?"

Tears begun falling down her face. It broke Hiruzen's heart to see her like this. He got closer to her, and embraced her in a warm hug. Naruko embraced him, and kept crying out onto his chest. She cried for a long while. She usually kept a happy face with a big smile, but it was just a mask. That night had been one of the most dreadful, and she had her moments where she no longer could keep up her mask. She was lonely, and the treatment people gave her hurt her, over and over. Hiruzen had earlier explained to her that people thought it being a bad omen that she was born the same night as the attack of the Kyuubi. Bad omen or not, people seemed to blame her for everything. Why were they so mean?

Somehow, Naruko knew that there was more to it, and that Hokage-jiji was hiding something. But he would always give the same answers, and she had no other way to get him or others to tell her anything. But he was a nice guy who treated her well, so she never pushed it too much either.

And the dream? It was somewhat confusing. Why dream about a giant fox after being beaten up? But it was just a dream anyway, so she wouldn't ponder too much about it. As first, that was what she thought, but it would not be the first time this 'dream' visited her.

She was released from the hospital a few days later. The hospital staff were always amazed at how quickly she would recover. No doubt that was because of the Kyuubi sealed inside her. The Hokage took her to her favorite place: The Ichiraku Ramen. She loved this place, the people were really nice to her, and the food was simply the best there was. Aside from the Hokage and some of the ANBU working for him, the only other nice people she knew of were Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, who ran this place. Many times she would eat here, and even without paying when she didn't have money. She swore to herself that she would pay back the food she got for free when she became Hokage and earned a whole lot of money. _'Hokages are rich, aren't they?'_ she thought. Wealth was not her goal, however, she merely expected it to be a side effect of being Hokage.

But after going to her own bed in her own apartment that night, she would soon wake up in a familiar sewer.

_'Wait, this place?' _

She recognized that she had been here before.

_'Why am I here?'_

She followed the same path as last time, and soon found herself in front of the big gate with the monster behind.

_'What is going on? Why am I seeing this again?'_

The giant monster was staring at her, but this time it opened its mouth.

**"Do you fear me?"**

Naruko was taken aback. It spoke! And of all questions, it asked if she was afraid of it.

She didn't answer.

**"Do you fear me?" **it asked again.

"A bit" she answered.

**"Only a bit?" **the fox replied, somewhat puzzled by her response.

"Yeah. I was really scared the first time, but you are behind a big gate, aren't you? Aren't such gates supposed to hold?" she asked rhetorically, pointing at the said object that separated them.

"And besides, this is only a dream. Dreams can be scary, and monsters in dreams too, but they are only dreams"

The fox smirked at this. **_'Boy, you are in for a big surprise' _**the fox thought. But her point about the gate wasn't bad. He had to give her some credit, she was smarter than she looked. He decided to play further on the dream-idea.

**"What if this is a nightmare? And I break down the gate the very next moment? Would you then be afraid?" **

"Yeah" the girl replied back. "If this is a nightmare, I would be very scared. But I would wake up afterwards screaming in my bed, and then realize it was still just a dream."

_'But if this dream really is a nightmare that keeps returning, it will become really bothersome'_ she thought to herself.

The fox had to grin. This girl had her wits, no doubt about it. But what Naruko was about to do next, he did not see coming.

"Hey, do you want us to be friends?" she asked grinningly as she stretched her arm towards him, like in a handshake.

**"What?" **the fox exclaimed.

"Friends!" Naruko said.

The fox laughed out loudly. _'Man, he has big lungs'_ Naruko thought, as she was covering her ears from the loud sound of the laughter.

**"Gaki, that was a good one. You certainly know how to entertain"**

"No, I mean it! Do you want us to be friends?"

The fox was staring at her, with disbelief visible in his face.

**_'She is serious' _**he realized. A small human child actually wanting to be his friend? What was going on in that head of hers?

**"You… Why would someone as small as you befriend a giant magnificent beast like me?" **he growled out.

"Well…" Naruko said pondering, with her finger tapping on her chin. "All kids have their invisible friends. And if this dream keeps returning and I meet you over and over, why can't you be my invisible friend?"

She made no comment whatsoever on her being a small human and him being a giant monster. It was like she didn't care. To her this was a dream. How dangerous could a dream be, even if the fox was big and scary?

The fox kept staring at her, and for once he was not sure what to say. What was wrong with her? This kid didn't seem to mind the difference between these two. Neither did she realize what he was. Then it hit him: Maybe he was a big and scary dream beast to her, but the true monsters in her life were the villagers that always chased her and beat her up. The seal prevented him from seeing too much, but he knew well that they mistreated her. The fox hated humans, but even to him to beat up an innocent child was low. And seeing her this eager implied that she was very lonely. And at the same time she didn't seem to mind him being a big scary monster. He couldn't help but smirk, this child had indeed intrigued him. He despised humans, but maybe she was descent enough.

**_'We'll see about it, when you learn about my true nature, that I am the real Kyuubi no Kitsune, and that I am sealed inside you' _**he thought to himself.

**_'But I guess it won't hurt for now, so why not. I'll see if I can enjoy this a bit, and see where this goes. Not that I have much else to do anyway'_**

**"Fine, we can be friends" **the fox smirked.

_'_**_For now at least'_**

"Yatta!" she shouted out! Dream or not, she had her own special friend, and it was a big badass monster.

_'_**_Boy, you are in for a surprise' _**the fox mused to himself, thinking of the coming day when she would learn the truth.

* * *

**Time skip - 2 years later**

**- Naruko, age 7 -**

The Kyuubi sighed to himself. As two years had passed, she would frequently come to visit him when in her sleep. At first it annoyed him, but he got used to it. She would tell about her days, tell about her joys and sorrows. She would tell if she beat her previous record in number of ramen bowls she had eaten at Ichiraku's. Of course the fox would advise her to not always try to beat that record, she also needs to enjoy her meal sometimes. He also recommend her to eat some vegetables, much to her dismay. "I don't eat grass!" was her usual answer.

She would tell him about when people was mean to her, and he would have to comfort her. Not that it was his field of expertise, but he took the risk when saying yes to friendship. He would let her cling to his fur for comfort, and he would gently cover her with one of his tails. He had to chuckle a bit, as he thought back to the first time he let Naruko touch her.

"Ne, Fox-chan, can I touch your fur?" she had asked.

**"Why do you want to touch my fur? I'm a giant beast to be feared and respected!" **he growled back.

"But you are a fox! And foxes have nice fur" she said.

The Kyuubi sweat dropped when hearing this. What was wrong with this girl? Anyone else would have been intimidated by his response, yet she didn't seem afraid. Maybe this dream-fox idea of hers had gotten too much into her head.

If it had been anyone else, he would have ripped that person to shreds for that remark, but he and Naruko had started off in better terms, and there was something about her. Something that he could not put words to. The Kyuubi sighed. **"Fine" **he responded.

Naruko walked through the gate between the bars and over to his side. She put out a hand and touched his fur, before leaning on to it.

"It's so soft and warm" she said, enjoying herself. She then fell asleep on his fur.

**_'That's it'_** the Kyuubi thought to himself. **_'I'm going to lose my reputation of being the strongest and most fearsome bijuu. The great Kyuubi, reduced to a human girl's cozy pet.'_**

He looked at the girl that slept onto him. He… actually could not help but smile a bit.

Though he was annoyed at this time, he would later look back at this as a fond memory.

His favorite part whenever Naruko visited, however, would always be when she told him about the latest pranks she had done. It seemed the girl had developed a nasty habit of pranking people, especially those who had been mean to her. He would always enjoy the details, as how much of that one bucket of blue paint had spilled unto the victim, the mass effect of the itching powder that was spread around on the target clothes found in the hot spring dressing rooms, or whatever it was she did. Yes, he enjoyed hearing about it, he was a fox after all. Foxes are cunning, and they love pranking. He could swear, if she had been a fox she would have made a good one, and she would have made him damn proud. Oh heck, she made him proud anyway.

The seal on the gate however was something else. They never talked about it, and she never touched it. She didn't know why it was there, and the fox seemed decent enough, but for some reason she could tell that removing it was a bad idea.

The Kyuubi sighed. As he looked back on the past two years, some things had changed. At first he was a somewhat annoyed at the concept of friendship with this gaki, and he would often be annoyed by her frequent visits, though he for some reason chose to hide it. But for some reason he could not explain, he found that he actually began caring for her. He didn't even like humans. But whenever she was sad, he didn't like it and tried to comfort her, if only a bit. Whenever she was happy, he could not help but feel some joy himself. Not to mention that her pranking stories never got old. But Naruko was not stupid. She would find out the truth sooner or later, and what would then happen? He was part responsible for what had happened, and for the hell the girl lived in. He wouldn't be surprised if she would hate him and never want to speak with him again. Kyuubi sighed again. He didn't like the thought of that happening, but it was probably inevitable.

Naruko was also reflecting over all this, as she was lying on her bed with her hands behind her head. It was evening and the sun was going down. The sky outside was orange. Her favorite color. She would always wear something with orange. Today she wore a black t-shirt with the whirlpool-symbol in red color on her chest, and black pants with orange stripes running down along the legs. There were the whisker marks in her face that she was known for, and her long blond hair was tied up in her signature twin ponytail. It had been one of the better days according to her standard. She received her usual glares, but no one attacked or yelled insults at her that day. Plus she had recently enrolled into the Academy, and what was happening there helped keeping her day going. All in all a good day. She had pulled off a prank too, involving super-hot spice and a certain sensei's lunch food, making Iruka-sensei beat his previous record of head size when using his signature jutsu, the Big-Yelling-Head-Jutsu.

Umino Iruka seemed to be nice to her though, in spite of often yelling at her with said jutsu, whether it was for pranking or being lazy at school. And she got yelled at A LOT. Her class had a lot of interesting characters in it though. A lazy Nara whom she could tell was more than he seemed, a bright blond haired Yamanaka that was very sure of herself, a 'thick-boned' Akimichi that ate a lot, an annoying Inuzuka that also had a taste for pranking, a shy Hyuga girl that seemed really nice for being a Hyuga, a mysterious Aburame that creeped out almost all the other girls. The list went on. Then there was the Uchiha. Almost all the girls were crazy about him. The only exceptions would be herself and the Hyuga. Of course, Sasuke had his qualities and were among the best, she didn't deny that. But was one boy something a whole bunch of girls should go really crazy about?

Thinking about this made her sweat drop, fearing for the future of kunoichi. Ironically, she would have given everything for having this attention. Sure, the fangirls where all a bunch of shallow people, but she didn't have any human friends, and felt lonely. There was the fox, but she longed for companionship with real people of her age. Someone like her to play with. Someone she could share her joys with. Though the Sandaime Hokage had forbidden people of ever telling their children about the Kyuubi being sealed into her, they would still tell their children to stay away from her, and she suffered for it. In fact, most of her class were hostile towards her because of their parents. Iruka however would keep them in line so that things didn't get too bad for her at the Academy. She figured she would likely have to thank him one day.

As for the fox… Naruko was not stupid. She was quite sharp for her age, though she didn't show it in class. At first she thought it was all a recurring dream that she always returned to, but already then she decided to not tell anyone about it, not even Hokage-jiji. She knew that people that were seeing strange sights and treating illusions as friends usually were insane, and she had no intention of being locked away in a mental hospital. Besides, she actually felt that talking with her dream fox and spending time with him really cheered her up, It actually made her happy, and she found comfort from the fox whenever she was sad.

She was so lonely that she was willing to accept an imaginary friend. She thought it was imaginary at first, but she didn't mind. Her friend always responded back, and she could share all her joys and sorrows with him. It became a source of strength to pull through all her hardship. Of course she never said anything to Hokage-jiji about this. If she was going insane, she would prefer insanity and some shred of happiness, rather than pushing all this away from her mind and trying to stay normal. It was tough enough as it was, with her being lonely and shunned by the village, and all this hardship would probably make her end up insane anyway. But as far as she could tell, she didn't notice any other clear signs of insanity.

She soon realized there was more to it. She had always heard of the monster that attacked the village when she was born, and of the Yondaime Hokage who gave his life when defeating it. She had not paid too much attention to the stories the first five years of her life, but after meeting the fox in her dreams and becoming friends with him she soon paid attention when overhearing someone speaking of that day. She picked up pieces of information, like it had nine tails, was a fox demon, and such. She didn't approach people directly and ask more about this, due to the hatred people would show her. The fact that people considered her to be a demon of some sort didn't help her, but somehow it had to have a connection with all this.

She lied on her bed, and thought about it. Today Iruka-sensei had been teaching about that fateful night, of how the Yondaime Hokage heroically sacrificed himself, and that everyone should aspire to fight and protect Konoha like he did.

"Iruka-sensei" Naruko had asked. "How did the Yondaime Hokage kill the Kyuubi?"

"Ah, good question" Iruka replied, scratching his back-head. Naruko took note of his body language. "You see, the Hokage used a kinjutsu that cost him his life. We're not allowed to teach kinjutsu at the academy, so I'm afraid I cannot go into the details" he said smiling.

Several children pouted over hearing this. A so exciting story, and they wouldn't learn how the great hero pulled it off.

"I was a young boy myself at that time," Iruka continued, "and unfortunately I didn't get to witness the battle directly. But I remember there was a great flash" he finished.

Naruko didn't buy it. He was hiding something. The kinjutsu part sounded right, but she knew there was more to it that Iruka hid. Everyone was hiding something about this, even Hokage-jiji. Unbeknownst to her, she was not the only one that thought something was fishy about this. Nara Shikamaru and Uchiha Sasuke had paid attention, and they both knew Iruka was hiding something. They suspected Naruko somehow was connected to all this, given the treatment the girl was given by the village. But Shikamaru was too lazy to bother, and Sasuke was too obsessed in getting out of his brother's shadow, being the prodigy Uchiha Itachi was. Neither did they have any idea of how deep Naruko's hell was.

Here she was, lying on top of her bed. All this has been really bothering her lately. Deep inside, she had already realized some time ago that the fox in her dreams was the Kyuubi no Yoko, the same beast that had attacked Konoha on the same night that turned out to be her birthday. She had pushed the thought away, not wanting to admit this. She knew it would lead to further questions and answers, answers that she did not want to know or hear of. But it was inevitable in the end, she could no longer ignore this fact. She had to know the truth. Why was she seeing the Kyuubi? The idea that she was being haunted by the ghost of a giant monster fox was rather absurd, not to mention that it was locked behind a gate. But sooner or later she had to ask for the answers she dreaded. The Yondaime Hokage had died bravely after all, and if she wanted to become Hokage she would have to be as brave as him. Simple logic, but it worked out for her.

She closed her eyes, and focused on the sewer where the caged gate was. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing there, right in front it.

_'Wow, that was fast'_ she thought. _'And disturbing.'_

**"So, you have come" **the giant fox said.

"Yes" she replied.

**"You have come to ask for the truth"** he stated.

She nodded.

**"Then ask, child"**

Naruko was taken aback that the fox used the term 'child' instead of his usual 'kit'. She knew the fox was dead serious. Naruko stood silent for a moment, before she began.

"For all my life, I have been hated by the village. They glare at me, shout at me calling me demon, and beat me up sometimes. The worst is during my birthday. I met you two years ago, and saw a big monster fox. I thought at first you were a dream that kept coming back, and that I had begun going crazy because I was friend with an imaginary fox. But as I have heard the story about that night again and again, I think I finally know the truth."

The fox was looking at her, knowing what was coming.

"You are the Kyuubi no Yoko, the same one that attacked Konoha on my birthday" she stated.

The Kyuubi kept staring at her for some moments, before replying:

**"Took you long enough"**

Naruko dreaded what was coming. She knew the answers to her questions would be painful, but she had to know, and there was no way back now.

"Why are you here? Why do I keep meeting you? What is this place?"

**"When I fought Konoha and the Yondaime Hokage, I was not killed. That was all a lie, and you were clever enough to see through that lie. But the Yondaime defeated me by sealing me into a newborn child. You." **he said as he pointed at her.

**"You are the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and this is your mindscape where I dwell"**

Naruko was silent. A look of dread was visible in her face, and tears began running down her face. "Why" she muttered, as she wiped her face with her arm. This was the very answer she feared. She had done her best preparing herself for something like this, but it still hit her very hard. "Why did it have to be me? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

**"My guess is that the Sandaime Hokage enforced a rule that no one were to ever tell you or anyone else about me. I think he tried to give you as normal life as possible, with friends who weren't afraid of you because of me. The Yondaime's wish when he died was that you were to be looked upon as a hero, that keeps me at bay. Too bad those rules and wishes didn't help"** the Kyuubi said.

**"As for you, something like this is a tough revelation. You were likely supposed to learn this when you got older and could handle it better. However, I know that you are smart and mature for someone at your age, so I am willing to take my chances in revealing this for you."**

Truth be told, the Kyuubi would have enjoyed seeing any other host suffer at this revelation. But in Naruko's case he was hoping she would pull through. He had come to like the kid. He continued:

**"You're also an Uzumaki. Uzumaki's were known for advanced fuinjutsu and their enormous amount of chakra. Any other children would probably not have been able to contain me and live. That is why you were chosen. I am the most powerful bijuu in the world after all."**

There were also other reasons behind the choice of her, but the Kyuubi figured he would leave that until later, when Naruko was ready to learn of her full heritage.

"Am I a monster?" she asked. Everyone was calling her a demon. What if it was true?

**"No, Naruko. You're a jinchuuriki, one who holds a bijuu, but you are still human. Think of it like this: A ninja scroll can contain a kunai. But are the kunai and the scroll the same?"**

"No, they are not"

**"So it is with us: You contain me, but you are still you."**

The Kyuubi cursed himself in his mind when he said this, this sounded so cliché to him, and this coming from him, the most powerful bijuu, made it worse. Naruko on the other hand was greatly relieved in hearing this. The next tear that fell was one of happiness, since she knew she was not a demon. But she soon frowned, as the next question entered her mind.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier? Why did you pretend to be a dream fox?"

**"Pretend? You were the one who thought I was a dream, and asked for friendship based on me being a dream. I do admit I was intrigued by you, so I said yes out of curiosity, to see where this would lead. I did not have much else to do either, so maybe I thought it would amuse me. And I figured I would leave it to you to find out the truth."**

Naruko was silent, looking down on the ground. The Kyuubi sighed:

**"Look, Naruko, maybe I did it to my own amusement in the beginning. But if it means anything to you, I do care about you. If only a bit. And I'm sorry."**

Naruko looked up. The Kyuubi of all beings actually said that to her? She couldn't help but smile for a moment, he probably had to swallow a lot of pride to say this. And she had a feeling that the fox cared more for her than he would admit.

"I have to go", she said, and turned around, leaving the room. There were a lot of things on her mind, and a lot of questions that still needed to be answered, but all this had been more overwhelming than she had anticipated, and she needed her time to deal with this.

**_'Don't lose it, kit'_** the fox thought.

She woke up on her bed. She was back in her room. The sun had gone down, and the sky was dark red. 'Is all this real?' she thought to herself. She knew it was.

She knew beforehand that this could be the case, but still the revelation had shocked her. She was silent in class the next few days, and seemed distant. Neither did she do any pranking. Iruka-sensei as well as a few others in her class took notice of this. _'What has happened to the dobe?'_ Sasuke asked himself, while Shikamaru would settle for his signature line. "Troublesome…" he muttered before going back to sleep.

After a few days, Iruka took her to Ichiraku's and treated her some ramen. She was unusually silent and ate at a slower pace than normal.

"Naruko, is everything ok?" Iruka asked.

Naruko looked up at his sensei.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, you've seemed distant lately. More than usual. Even now when you're eating ramen. And you have behaved very well lately", implying that he had taken notice of her lack of pranking. He was secretly praying that this would not encourage any comeback, as he often was the poor victim. But when there is a drastic change to someone, something had happened and it could be bad.

'_Shoot!'_ Naruko thought. _'I should have paid more attention on what I was doing!"_

"So, is everything ok with you?

She turned to Iruka-sensei, and gave a smile.

"Yeah, I have been distant. I have a lot going on my mind right now. Something happened" she said, as she begun hesitating on how to continue.

"You know you can come to me and talk about anything, right?" Iruka said.

Naruko hesitated, but answered:

"It's private, so I would rather not talk about it. Not now."

She looked up to him again, and smiled. This was a genuine one.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei. I know you're worried about me, and want to help. And I appreciate you treating me to ramen, now as well as any time. I'm really glad you care. But this is something I have to deal with myself."

She knew she was a pain in his ass, and he yelled at her a lot with his signature jutsu, but she knew that he also cared. He had never given her that glare everyone else did, and he had never called her a demon. And treating to ramen from time to time would also go as a bonus.

Iruka respected her wish. Somehow she did seem more mature than she usually would show. Funny that she was the dobe in class. Perhaps she hid a lot of talent, waiting to surprise them all at the final days as the most grown one of all? At the same time, he could not help but wonder what was going on. Had someone told her the truth about the Kyuubi? If so, who? Not that Iruka could play detective over this, given that there were no clues he could follow. Naruko figured so, that was why she didn't want him to know. Not for now at least.

A few days later, Naruko decided to return back to her mindscape. She needed to come to terms that she was the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and because of it had to take a lot of crap from the villagers. It was difficult, and she needed more answers if she was to move on. She was sitting on the head of the Yondaime Hokage on the monument that decorated the mountain behind the village. She would come to this place from time to time when she had a lot on her mind, and she had sat on this head for many hours the last week. She didn't know why, but somehow she felt connected to this place. It was afternoon, and the Academy was over for the day.

She closed her eyes, focused, and found herself once again in front of the gate and the Kyuubi.

**"You have returned. And I see you have more questions. Ask" **he said.

He could see the anger in her eyes.

"Why did you attack the village?" she asked, almost flared up.

"I know it sucks being a jinchuuriki and having to take all the crap from the villagers. But at least I want to know why you attacked."

_'Maybe even my parents would be alive, if it hadn't happened'_ she mused to herself.

The Kyuubi looked at her in silence. She would understand the first part of what he was going to say, but he wouldn't be surprised if she hated him after the second part. Then he answered:

"**It's a long story. Sufficient to say, you are not my first jinchuuriki. Your predecessor was also an Uzumaki. She was your mother."**

Naruko was shocked. He knew her mother?

**"When a female jinchuuriki gives birth, the seal weakens. I tried to break out, but the Yondaime Hokage was present in order to keep me from breaking out. He was quite adept at fuinjutsu, that boy. Then, as soon as you were born, we were assaulted by a masked man."**

Naruko paid attention.

"**The masked man kidnapped your mother, and forced me out of her. As I stared at him, he took control over me. I could see it. The accursed Sharingan through the eye hole on his mask. "**

"Sharingan? Wait, are you saying an Uchiha did this?"

**_'She knows about the bloodline limit of that accursed clan already? Clever gaki.'_**

**"I'm not sure who did it. His chakra felt vile, and reminded me of Uchiha Madara. This one had something called Mangekyou Sharingan. It is a very powerful version of the Sharingan that has the ability to take control over a bijuu, like me. Very few Uchihas have achieved this."**

"So you were forced to attack our village then?"

**"At first yes, the Yondaime was able to beat back that masked man, and I regained control over myself. But I continued." **

Before hearing this Naruko hoped that the Kyuubi was fully innocent, and to be trusted. Her hope was dashed when hearing the last words he said.

"Why?" she shouted out.

**"Because I was angry. I wanted revenge" **the Kyuubi silently admitted.

"Revenge?"

**"Yes. I was first captured by Uchiha Madara many years back" **he began.

_'Uchiha Madara? Wait, wasn't he one of the founders of Konoha?'_ she mused.

"**Uchiha Madara had the Mangekyou Sharingan, and took control over me. Later he would fight against Senju Hashirama, the Shodaime Hokage, in what you call the Valley of the End. I was brought into the battle. We were defeated, and the Hokage sealed me away in order to prevent my escape. He was too afraid of me, but should have let me go instead! Since then, I have been imprisoned in different hosts until that night you were born."**

Naruko had paid attention. Not saying anything, as she waited for the Kyuubi to continue.

**"As I said, after I was freed I wanted revenge. I had been a prisoner for many years, first I was controlled by that damn Uchiha, then the Hokages kept me inside different Uzumakis. I wanted payback, so I continued the attack. But if I had run away instead, none of us would be in this mess. Make no mistake, kit, I don't feel any regret for the humans I have killed, but my foolish choice has caused you deep suffering, and it cost me my freedom as well. I understand if you hate me, but for what it is worth, I'm sorry kit."**

Naruko was standing in deep thought. The Kyuubi expected a harsh response, but once again his kit never failed to surprise. She looked up at him, and responded with a smile.

"Okay!"

**"Okay?! What do you mean about 'okay'?! It's because of me that your life is hell! And I killed many of your kin! And still this is okay?!" **he roared back.

"You were kept captive for many years, and you're right: The Shodaime should have let you go. So it's not like it's your fault alone. I guess Konoha has its faults as well. You did a stupid thing. A very stupid thing. But you have never treated me badly, the villagers are the ones who have."

This girl, she was even willing to be his friend after hearing all this?

_'But at least I understand why the villagers hate me. They are afraid of me. Of him'_ she thought to herself, sadly, as she looked upon the Kyuubi. This was not something she had asked for, but there was nothing she could do to change it. She had no choice but to do the best she could out of it. It really made her angry thinking that the villagers treated her like this when she was innocent all along.

**"So, I guess you still want us to be friends then?" **he said, calming himself down.

"Yeah" she nodded. "I'm still angry for what you did, but you had your reasons."

**"Heh, you're interesting, kit."** he smirked.

Then the next question came to her mind:

"You know who my parents were?" she asked.

**"Yeah. Even the Sandaime Hokage knows. But I also know that your parents had many enemies who would come for you if they knew your heritage. I believe the Sandaime has kept away that knowledge from you and your village, for your own protection. I honestly agree with his decision."**

The idea made sense, but it was still disappointing that the Kyuubi didn't want to reveal who her parents were.

**"Relax kit. When you are older and ready for it, I will tell you who your parents were."**

Naruko thought about all this. A masked man had attacked her mother, forced out the Kyuubi and started the attack on the village. Did any survivors know? Did Hokage-jiji know?

**"I know what you are thinking, Naruko, but I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you will not tell the Hokage what we have been talking about, or that we have been talking at all."**

"Why?" She asked.

**"You may be trusting me, but to them I am a merciless beast that cannot be trusted. If they learn about us two, they may fear that I am using you. They may turn against us. For your sake I hope I am wrong, but I fear the Hokage may enforce some seal on us to block any contact. Maybe even seal away your memories."**

The thought of any of this sent shivers down her spine.

**"I've seen too much hypocrisy from humans throughout my existence, therefore I don't trust them. Even those who appear to be good ones, such as your Sandaime Hokage. He means well, but when humans face the unknown they often fear the worst and let the fear control their decisions. Sometimes the result is very ugly."**

Naruko nodded. She didn't like this, and she didn't like to keep secrets so deep like these from Hokage-jiji. But the fox had been good to her, and she didn't see any problems with having him as a friend. It made her life easier, and what he had done back then was just a plain stupid choice. So she agreed.

**"Besides, I may not like the Hokage and his shinobi, but they are not incompetent. If that masked man could have been caught easily, they would have done so years ago. Besides, it's seven years since it all happened. Tracing it back to then without any new leads would be impossible."**

**"There are more things I wish to discuss with you, kit, but this will be enough for now. Return to your world and think over this. I want you to have a clear mind about the choices that are ahead of us."**

Before Naruko knew it, she was back, sitting on the stone head of the Yondaime Hokage.

_Okay, so the Kyuubi is able to throw me out as well' _

Her stomach growled.

_'Man, all this stuff that's going on is making me really hungry.'_

With all these issues burdening Naruko's mind, there was only one solution: Ichiraku ramen!

* * *

**End flashback**

**- Present time -**

_'It was hard when I first learned about us two. When I found out that I was your jinchuuriki, it was a hard blow to me. It's tough for a seven year old to deal with something like this'_ Naruko said in her mind while she was eating the rabbit meat.

**"Yes. But you managed to pull through. Not many on that age would have."**

_'I had to grow up fast. Especially with the way the villagers treated me'_

**"You don't give yourself enough credit, kit. You were smart for your age, even I noticed that."**

_'I still was dobe in my class.'_ Naruko chuckled.

**"True, but who could blame you? While you slept at the day, you trained hard with me during the late evenings so that you lost track of time. And you still managed to pick up all basic knowledge that the academy teaches. Even more beyond that. You could probably rivaled that Haruno girl's book-smarts if you had given it a real shot." **

Naruko chuckled again, as she continued eating the rabbit meat.

_'Maybe I was a little too undisciplined'_

**"A little? You redefined that word along with that Nara kid, kit"** Kurama laughed.

_'Ha-ha, very funny furball' _she replied.

**"Don't mention it, fleshbag"** he said.

They both chuckled. Over the years they had become good friends, and sometimes they would tease each other. She could not understand how the previous jinchuuriki could fail so miserably in seeing that he could be a decent person.

_"Thanks. I needed that laugh."_

**"Don't mention it, kit."** he smiled back.

It was silent night, and the stars were clear. But it would soon end abruptly, for unbeknownst to them, danger was lurking nearby.


	4. My name is Kurama

**Author's Note:**

**I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.**

**Different communication and thought patterns:**

"Human speaking"

_'Human thinking'_

**"Bijuu speaking"**

_**'Bijuu thinking'**_

**Thanks to Vandar93 and Windninja1000 for beta reading.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run**

**Chapter 4: My name is Kurama**

Naruko sat at the small camp fire, and ate the remaining rabbit meat. She put the stick aside when she was done, and continued dwelling on the memories of her past, together with Kurama.

Kurama continued:

**"Yeah, you were a smart one for your age. But intelligence alone is not all. You showed me more of yourself the next time you came to me."**

_'Yeah, I guess I did' _Naruko thought.

* * *

**Flashback**

**- Naruko, Age 7 -**

Weeks passed before Naruko would meet the Kyuubi again. She had decided to not rush things. She would contemplate on all she had learned about herself and her past, but she would give it as much time as she felt she needed. Meanwhile she would pass time by 'participating' at the academy and pranking people. Iruka-sensei was suffering a lot of it, and it often made her day, in spite of any punishment she would receive.

The Hokage himself looked after Naruko and treated her to Ichiraku's a few times. He had noticed that there were things on her mind that kept her more distant than usual. Iruka had mentioned it to him that she had been unusually silent for days. She would come around again though, and continue with her pranking and troublemaking at the academy, doing the things she was known for.

But now Naruko had made up her mind about her, and about the fox. Once again she stood before the gates of the seal. The Kyuubi was gazing at her, with anticipation.

**"Naruko"** he greeted.

"Kyuubi-chan" she greeted back, causing him to flinch a bit.

"Ne, 'chan' is ok for you right?"

**"It's annoying, but you called me fox-chan earlier. I guess the difference is trivial."**

He looked up at her, and he could see a renewed determination in her eyes.

**"So, now that you know the truth about us, what do you intend to do?"**

She took a deep breath, before answering:

"When I first learned about us two and the past, I was angry because of the way I am treated when it's not even my own fault. But there is little I or anyone else can do about me being a jinchuuriki, so I can't let this stop me. I will have to move forward"

**"What about the villagers? Do you hate them? Do you intend to take revenge?"**

"I don't like them, and I hate what they do. Sometimes I feel like I hate them, and revenge does sound good those times. But Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji will be very disappointed if I go that far, and I don't think old man Teuchi and Ayame-chan would be happy either. Besides, if I were to get back at them, wouldn't they be right in saying that I am a demon? So I want to find another way. I want to show them that I am not the demon they hate. And I will become Hokage, so that everyone will acknowledge me!"

The Kyuubi was watching her. 7 years old, having recently learned that she carries the most powerful bijuu in the world, is hated by her village, and still she is this determined.

**_'Pity that her idealism won't survive when it meets reality'_** the Kyuubi thought to himself.

**_'But she has potential. If she can keep on that determination of hers, she could become someone great one day.'_**

"But I will still prank people, and I will become a pranking master!" she declared, smirking.

The Kyuubi smirked at her. Leave it to her to appeal to his mischievous nature.

**_'I like this one'_** he thought to himself.

Naruko put her finger to her cheek, and thought about the next thing she would ask.

"If I'm your jinchuuriki, that means your chakra is inside me. Kyuubi-chan, if it is okay for you, I ask you to let me use it, and teach me how to," she said bowing down.

**"Kit, I like you. I suppose we could work together"** he answered.

**"But before you learn to use my powers, you need to learn how to properly use your own chakra first. And you should also train yourself to become a proper shinobi. I will help you with that, and I will teach you some useful ninjutsus as well. After the Academy tomorrow, go to one of the training fields in the village and I will instruct you. Make sure no one is present."**

"Thank you, Kyuubi-sensei!" she shouted, with her signature grin. The Kyuubi smirked, sensei didn't sit too bad with him.

**"But first, we need to do some changes. You see the seal?"** he said, pointing at the parchment of paper on the gate, with the word "seal" written on it. **"I know a bit about what is going on around you, but I need you to give me a better opening. I will not ask you to remove the seal entirely, not now. But rip off the corners. That will allow me access to your senses. I will see what you see, and hear what you hear, all of it. I will be able to talk to you outside this mindscape, so you don't need to come to me every time for advice."**

_'I wonder what will happen the day he asks me to remove the entire seal'_ she pondered, but did as he said. As she ripped off the corners, she could feel like a power surge went through her body, causing her to drop down on to her hands and knees.

**"I didn't say you wouldn't feel it, but this should do"** the Kyuubi said.

Naruko soon found herself back in the real world, as she was sitting on the head of the Yondaime Hokage on the mountain.

**"Good, now go home and get some rest. With me training you, the days will be longer"**

"I can hear you!" she said out loud.

**"First things first, kit: you need only to think what you want to say, I will still hear it. If you speak loudly, people will think you have lost it. Or worse, they will find out."**

_'Like this?'_ she thought to the bijuu.

**"Yes. Like that"**

The next days she did as she was instructed. After the Academy ended, she found herself at an empty training field, with some open lush forest nearby. After questioning her, the Kyuubi found out that she knew the basics behind chakra molding, and she had practiced it a little bit.

**"Before I try teaching you any jutsus, I want you to hone your chakra control first. What we will be doing is what ninjas would call 'The tree climbing exercise'. You will climb the nearby trees without using your hands."**

_'Since we are talking about chakra control, does it have anything to do with using chakra in my feet?'_

**"Very perceptive, kit. Yes, you will climb the trees by focusing the chakra to your feet and walk up. Beware though, too little or too much and you will fall down"**

Naruko soon understood the difficulty as she tried. Too little, and she would lose the footing and fall down. Too much, and she would be pushed away and fall down as the tree surface would crack at that very point. Many times she fell down and it all gave her a sore butt. But no pain, no gain. She was determined to make through this.

Slowly, she was making progress. She didn't do it better at the Academy though, as she was found more asleep in class due to training late. Iruka-sensei would of course use his signature jutsu on her. She did however grasp what they were teaching at the Academy, incredibly enough. She was a smart girl after all, and was able to piece together the knowledge she needed. Some she picked up from Iruka's teaching, some she would find out on her own, and some she would be taught by the Kyuubi. After weeks of doing the tree climbing exercise, she would master it and reach the top. The Kyuubi would next tell her to walk on water, by emitting a constant stream of chakra from her feet. This would of course lead to many wet and cold moments for the poor girl, and a lot of laugh for the fox. But she got the grasp of it in time. Slowly, unbeknownst to almost everyone, she was becoming a stronger kunoichi as the Kyuubi was teaching her.

* * *

**- Naruko, age 8 -**

"Ne, Kyuubi-sensei, what is your name?" she asked him one evening she dropped by and visited him in her mindscape. She was sitting on his head.

**"Name? Why do you think I have a name? Am I not the famous Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful bijuu in the world?"** he growled back.

"But you have a name, don't you? Kyuubi is what you are, but it's not your name, is it?" she said, with her finger tapping her cheek. She would to this when she was thinking deeply.

"We all are something, and have names. Human is what I am, but my name is Naruko. Hokage-jiji is human… and he's also Hokage, but his name is Hiruzen. And you know about Kiba in my class? His new pet is a dog, but its name is Akamaru."

**"But what about wild animals? Surely they don't have names? I am a wild beast after all."**

"But we give some of them names. And I'm sure they give their children names, in their own animal language."

The Kyuubi was looking at her. Surely this kid could be deep sometimes. And funny how children spoke when they were deep-thinking. He smiled at her.

**"Very well kit, I will tell you. My name is Kurama."**

Naruko grinned back at hearing this.

"Uzumaki Naruko! Pleased to meet ya!" she shouted, sporting her signature grin. Kyuubi, or Kurama, could not help but smile back at this.

* * *

**- Naruko, age 10 -**

As the years had passed she had blossomed as a kunoichi. No, she would not be an official one for at least three more years, but she was the best one in her class, including ninjutsu, taijutsu and knowledge. Too bad she found the Academy to be boring and was lazy in class, so no one ever noticed. She was known as the dobe alright. Some afternoons she would either visit Hokage-jiji, the Ichiraku's, hang out with a certain friend or perform master pranks (which she also perceived as training in stealth). Otherwise, she would train. This included ninjutsu, taijutsu or fuinjutsu.

She had a keen interest in fuinjutsu, and at one point she had asked Hokage-jiji if he or anyone he knew could teach her fuinjutsu. Hiruzen had been puzzled by her request, since the reports stated that she was doing poorly at the Academy. At the same time he knew of her Uzumaki heritage and he figured her interest was in her blood. Maybe she would show progress in this field. He agreed in giving her scrolls containing the basic knowledge and a few fuinjutsus for beginners. She happily accepted and began studying them when she came home. She would slowly, but steadily, get the hang of it. Though this was the basic stuff, it was considered to be high-level for a child at her age. No one was taught this at the Academy, only some basic knowledge like what it is and what it was used for.

But now, a certain day had come, and Naruko stood before Kurama and the gate.

**"So the time has come"** Kurama remarked, and Naruko nodded.

**"When I first said I would train you in using my chakra, I had no idea you would gain access to the key of the Hakke Fuin (Eight Triagrams seal) that keeps the gate locked. I can still give you chakra without you opening it, and you will still be powerful, but the seal adds constraint to this. In worst case it will also make balancing the use more difficult, and it may harm you. With the seal opened, we can synch our chakra perfectly, and the power will increase far more. Not to mention that we also can better avoid damage to your body."**

**"But," **Kurama said with a serious tone, while Naruko paid attention to him.

**"Opening the seal is a huge leap of trust. I know you trust me, but I need to ask you, Naruko: What if I have been using you all this time, and have built up a false trust only to betray you once the gate opens? How do you know I have not been using you? How do you know I will not break out, killing you in the process as I break free? You know that I hate humans, and that I am very well capable of overpowering you and take over your body."**

"It is as you say," Naruko said, "you may very well have been using me, and there is no way for me to know that. But I don't believe you will. We're friends. You're the first friend I ever had. You're my teacher and I'm your student. You may hate humans, but you don't hate me. I don't hate you. I believe in you, Kurama, and I trust you with my whole life!"

Kurama could see the determination in her eyes, and that she meant every word.

**"Very well,"** he said. **"Then let us open the seal."**

Naruko flew up to the parchment on the gate, and ripped it off. Behind was a key lock that now was visible. She landed back at her feet, took up the lower part of her orange T-shirt, where the seal became visible on her stomach. She channeled her chakra, and the marks of the key became visible on her arm and hand, with her fingertips glowing blue. She slammed her arm onto her stomach, and twisted the seal. The lock on the gate opened, and at an instant Kurama slammed open the gate, roaring at Naruko. She covered her upper face with her arm to protect herself from the shockwave, but she didn't falter. As the wind calmed down, she looked towards Kurama.

He has standing there, grinning at her.

"You really think your roar scares me?" she said smirking.

Kurama began to laugh, so did she. She knew him too well, and had anticipated him trying to scare the wits out of her. But she wasn't a master prankster for nothing.

**"Aah… feels good"** Kurama said as he was stretching his legs out.

_'Man, they're long'_ Naruko thought as she had a good look at his legs while he was stretching out.

Kurama sat down.

**"Now then. Bump your fist with mine, and let us meld our chakra together"** he said reaching his fist towards her.

She did as he said, and they began melding their chakra. It felt…good…

Out in the real world, Naruko was sitting in a meditative position, and now she stood up. The air around her began to tense, as winds were blowing around her. At once, a light beamed out of her, and soon she was standing there all bright orange. The Kyuubi's chakra covered her and gave her a new look (1): She was wearing a long chakra coat. It had double circles on the shoulders, with black lines going down the arms. The high collar of the coat was decorated with magatama. The back had lines crossing with a circle at the center. Below the coat her upper body was black, with exception of a magatama pattern covering her upper front and back, like a necklace, and a stripe going from her throat do her stomach, where it met multiple circles. Her legs where bright orange, with a black stripe on each running down the legs. The back of hands had a black circle each, with a black line intersecting it. The whisker marks in her face became thick and black, and her eyes were bright orange with slits.

Naruko could feel the new power that was surging in her.

"Amazing… This… it feels like a power I have never felt before… It feels so…good…" she said.

Upon noting this, Kurama immediately cut the connection. The chakra covering her faded immediately, and she fell down on all her hands and knees. She was panting, really hard.

**"It seems my chakra has an addictive effect on you. But don't get too hooked on it"** he warned sternly.

He studied her, as she kept panting.

**"Just as I suspected. You are still a young child, and even with your training my powers still take a huge toll on your body. You have to grow and become even stronger, if you are to endure using my powers. And you will have to practice using my chakra in order to train yourself to handle this, as well as for us to improve our collaboration."**

Naruko took a mental note of this, before falling over into a lying position.

**"Relax, kit. You have only become very exhausted. You will be fine in no time."**

"Naruko! Please talk to me!" she could hear a distant voice calling to her.

"I'm... fine... Sasuke..." she whispered, before falling into sleep.

* * *

**- Naruko, age 13 -**

The graduation day, finally. Naruko was so looking forward to being done. The taijutsu test had passed with satisfying results, much to the surprise of her teachers and class. The written test was another story. She had answered about a fifth of the questions, but she was bored, and as soon as she looked out of the window, her mind drifted away until the test ended. The ninjutsu was nailed down as well. She performed Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique) and Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) satisfyingly. Now she was in a single room with Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei present.

She was standing there wearing her orange and blue jacket, with her orange pants. Of course, she would not wear them for the coming missions, Kurama had persuaded her into wearing more proper ninja gear, but as long as she was still in the Academy she would wear her favorite clothing. Her long blond hair was tied into her signature twin ponytails.

"Naruko, please create five clones for us" Iruka said.

Naruko nodded, and went through the seals.

Ram → Snake → Tiger. "Bunshin no Jutsu" (Clone Technique)

POOF!

And out of the smoke came a pale and sickly looking clone that collapsed on the floor. As it disappeared, Naruko was standing there laughing sheepishly while scratching her back head. Iruka was shaking his head in disapproval.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei, I still can't perform that one" she said. "But do you mind if I do a different one?"

Iruka and Mizuki both looked puzzled at her, before they looked at each other. "I guess we only told her to created five clones" Iruka said, "without saying what type."

"But Iruka, if she can't perform a simple Bunshin no Jutsu, how can she do another type?" Mizuki asked questioningly.

They looked at her, as she explained: "You see, I have too much chakra, and I can't create a proper regular clone. So I had to learn a different one."

Iruka nodded. "OK, Naruko, show us."

Naruko did the cross tiger seal, also know as the clone seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Technique).

Suddenly, 5 kage bunshin poofed into existence before her senseis. Mizuki's jaw hit the table, while Iruka shouted amazed:

"Incredible! You know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! And it seems you can do it without exhausting your chakra! You pass!"

"Yatta!" Naruko shouted! She sported her signature grin, as Iruka-sensei proudly handed her the well-deserved forehead protector.

Mizuki on the other hand was fuming inside. His plan had gone straight down the drain. Or maybe not, even if she passed her score was still the lowest. Doing the Kage Bunshin would not give any bonus score, since there was a maximum per test. Maybe the dobe would like a chance at improving?

He would later find her on one of the training fields. She was by herself.

"Yo, Naruko!" he called at her.

"Mizuki-sensei! What's up?"

"Well, you see… First of all, congratulations on passing. But you also got the lowest score in class. I have been talking with Iruka, and we have agreed on an additional test for you so that you can improve your score, and also your standing among the jounin that will teach you genin. Think of it, the best jounins becoming more interested in you."

"I'm listening" Naruko said.

"We have this secret test that we sometimes do with a selected student. Normally this would be a student that has failed, but that we still think has potential of being a capable shinobi. We also agree that you should have a chance at improving. What you have to do is to sneak into the Hokage's office, steal from the store room something called the Scroll of Seals. You will escape unnoticed to a cabin in the forest that I assign to you. You must learn a jutsu from the scroll, and show it to me when I arrive in the morning. Do this, and your score will improve greatly!"

_'Does he think I am a freaking idiot? He's up to something!'_ she thought. Kurama had earlier warned her against Mizuki, as early as when he first began tutoring the class along with Iruka this year. One of the side effects of opening the gate was that Kurama could sense much more around her. He could sense chakra, and he could sense negative emotions. Naruko also had this ability when she went into bijuu mode, but she would usually leave this to him. Mizuki had put on a smiling face since the beginning, but it could not fool the fox.

She decided to play along anyway, to see where this went. He did a good act, but the malice that was inside Mizuki screamed towards Kurama, and even Naruko could feel this. He was planning to betray her.

_'He'll probably try to get at me after stealing the scroll. Well, not if I get him first.'_

**"What's on your mind kit?"**

_'I'll steal the scroll. A new jutsu is always useful, so I'll see if I can learn one. And when he comes, I'll make sure he gets what he deserves instead, and I'll point him out when Hokage-jiji comes with his guards.'_

**"Shrewd. I like it!"**

_'Besides, it makes a good chance to test the stealth training you have given me. I'll probably get a lot of trouble for this, but that won't be the first time.'_

"Sure, Mizuki-sensei, I'll do it."

"Good!" Mizuki said, grinning evilly in his mind. He explained the location of the cabin, then he declared: "The test starts now."

Immediately she jumped away. Mizuki was very satisfied with himself. Even though she had graduated, he still managed to convince her. Or so he thought.

She managed to sneak into the Hokage's office undetected, and steal the said scroll. She had to admit that she was proud of her stealth skills. As soon as this was discovered, the Hokage summoned all available ninja and sent them out to find Naruko. Why would she do something like this? He went to his office, and managed after some effort to track her down with his crystal ball.

She was at a cabin in the forest, reading the scroll.

_'Fuuton: Kaze no burēdodasshu (Wind blade dash)'_ she read. She thought to herself, as she read the details:

_'Interesting. I already know some fuuton jutsus. It seems I need to learn something like the Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of wind) if I am going to use this one, and I still have a long way before I learn that one.'_

_'Hmm, seems risky'_ she thought as she kept reading the details, while writing them down on a scroll she had brought.

"Naruko!" she heard a voice behind her. She turned around and saw Iruka-sensei land in front of her!

_'Kuso! I didn't plan for Iruka-sensei to be here! This could complicate things a bit.'_

She thought about it, _'No, the plan should still work out as long as he does not interfere too much.'_

"Naruko! You are in so much trouble right now, young lady! What do you think you are doing?!"

"Damn, I should have been faster. I didn't manage to learn any jutsus yet from the scroll, Iruka-sensei. I guess I failed at increasing my score" she said, scratching the back of her head, acting innocently.

_'Increasing her score? What is going on?'_ Iruka thought confused. "Naruko, who told you about increasing your score?"

"Mizuki-sensei did! He said that if I stole this scroll and learned a jutsu before morning, I would increase my score from the graduation and increase my standing among the jounin-senseis."

_'Mizuki did!?'_ Iruka thought shocked.

Suddenly, they heard the whistling sound of kunais flying towards them. Iruka pushed Naruko aside in order to protect her.

_'Shit! I need to act fast!'_ she thought as she went through the seals, the fastest ever in her life:

Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake. "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" (Great Breakthrough)

She blew the wind out of her mouth as fast as she could, and hit the kunais. She was a little late, though most kunais missed him, two still hit him in his right arm.

_'That was too close, I could only avoid him getting serious wounds. I'm sorry, sensei'_

Iruka and Naruko looked up in the trees, and saw Mizuki standing there.

"Impressive, gaki!" he shouted. "Yet another jutsu that's above you Academy brats. I guess you were a hidden prodigy all along. Now, Naruko, hand over the scroll!"

She stood there silent, not answering him at all. Iruka-sensei realized what Mizuki was up to.

"Naruko, don't let him have the scroll, no matter what! That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden jutsus!" he said. "Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"

Naruko frowned at Mizuki. But she already knew that.

"Naruko, Iruka is afraid of you possessing that" Mizuki said.

"What are you saying, Mizuki?!" Iruka said, "Don't believe him, Naruko!"

Mizuki laughed, and said: "I'll tell you the truth!"

"Don't!" Iruka shouted.

"A rule was created after the incident that occurred 13 years ago."

"A rule?" Naruko asked, playing along.

"It's a rule that you, Naruko, cannot find out about."

"Wh…what is that rule?" she asked, feigning fear.

"Stop Mizuki!" Iruka shouted, as he jumped towards Mizuki, attacking him. However Mizuki had always been the better brawler of those two, and Iruka was letting his emotions get the better of him. Mizuki managed so send him down to the ground by a hard punch.

_'Really, Iruka-sensei? I thought you taught at the Academy to NOT let your emotions control you' _Naruko thought.

"It's the rule not to say that Naruko is a monster fox" Mizuki continued.

"In other words, you are the Kyuubi no Yoko who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village."

"STOP!" Iruka yelled out, but it was too late, it had been said. He felt so helpless at that moment.

"You have been deceived by the village people all this time. Didn't you think it was weird for everyone to hate you so much? No one's ever going to acknowledge you! Even Iruka hates you!" Mizuki shouted with a sadistic smile.

Naruko looked up at Mizuki, but to his surprise he saw a deadpanned expression in her face.

"Hey… are you stupid or something? Don't you know the difference between a kunai and the scroll that contains it?" she asked.

Her response took both men by surprise. Her look turned into a serious one.

"And one more thing Mizuki" she said, dropping the sensei-honorific. "I already knew you were up to something. I didn't come here unprepared. And for you record I learned about me being the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi years ago. Sorry to disappoint."

Mizuki gritted his teeth. He had hoped to see this girl squirm, and that joy was robbed from him.

"And now it's my turn" she said, making the clone seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

4 clones were created.

"Oh please!" Mizuki snorted "I'll admit that Kage Bunshin of yours is useful, but even 5 low-level genins are no match for a well-seasoned chuunin like me!"

_'Though with Iruka here, it will be troublesome. I failed to hit him with the kunais. That damn gaki! But I'm so close, I won't back down now!'_

"Who said we were 5?" Naruko asked, pointing upwards. Both Mizuki and Iruka looked up. At first they saw nothing, but their eyes widened as new Narukos jumped out of the shadows the trees provided.

_'They're dozens! No, they're over a hundred!'_ Mizuki thought horrified by the sight of the incoming clones.

"Now we got you, you teme!" they shouted in unison. Horrified, Mizuki took a misstep on the branch and fell down. As soon as he landed on the ground, a dozen more clones shot up from the surface. "Look out below!" they shouted.

Iruka was looking at this all. He was amazed beyond speechless. She could do the Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, creating this high number of clones without losing any visible strength. This girl really was more than she appeared to be.

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Mizuki screamed out, as the entire horde of Narukos were unleashed on him.

When they were done and dispelled, Mizuki was lying on the ground, beaten up into a bloody pulp. Naruko turned to Iruka, laughing sheepishly while scratching her back head.

"Maybe I hurt him a little too much. Hey, Iruka-sensei, are you ok? Does your arm hurt?"

"I'm fine," he said, having removed the two kunais.

_'Incredible. She might actually surpass the previous Hokages if she continues like this.'_

Naruko walked over to him.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei… Is it true what he said, that your parents were killed the night the Kyuubi attacked?" she asked.

Iruka could spot a hint of fear in her eyes. He nodded at her question, confirming that it was true. She looked on the ground, not daring to look him in his face.

"Do you… hate me?" she asked.

Iruka's heart ached for Naruko when he heard this. He pulled her immediately into a hug.

"No, Naruko, I don't hate you. You're the jinchuuriki, not the Kyuubi itself. You had nothing to do with the attack that night. And you were right in lecturing Mizuki about the kunai and the scroll. I know the difference. And Naruko, you may be a handful in my class, but you are also a precious student of mine. Uzumaki Naruko, I acknowledge you."

Naruko could not help but let loose a few tears of happiness, as she was returning the hug Iruka-sensei gave him. It felt really good to truly know that her teacher did care about her, in spite of the past.

Kurama was watching. If he wanted, he could confirm for the girl that her sensei was not hiding any deceit, but he decided to let the girl figure it out on her out. It seemed that she knew it anyway. Yet he was proud of his kit. Someone had tried taking advantage at her, and she had turned it all around.

As soon as the Hokage and several ANBU arrived, Mizuki was handed over to the ANBU to be brought to Morino Ibiki and Mitarashi Anko. Oh, what dreadful fate awaited him. Iruka and Naruko explained what had happened, and the Hokage decided to let this pass. The scroll was returned to the storage room, now with more security.

The Hokage sighed as he was sitting in his office. Naruko certainly had managed to play her cards well. She would make a fine shinobi one day. He looked at the crystal ball, now inactive, and thought about the events that had happened that day. He had been watching what was going on, and already knew all the details of what had happened when he and his guards arrived at the scene. The girl was skilled, even pulling off that fuuton jutsu in the nick of time. She was showing good promise, pretty much similar to Uchiha Sasuke.

In fact, she showed greater potential. For what she didn't know was that he knew her secret about her training with her bijuu. He had spotted her training with his crystal ball, and seen her bijuu mode chakra. She seemed to have it under control, and Hiruzen chose to believe in her. He would keep this secret with himself, respecting her privacy. Unless Naruko would come to him and tell him herself about this, or unless she would turn against Konoha, he would take it with him to his grave. Unfortunately, that turned out to be sooner than planned.

* * *

**End flashback**

**- Present time -**

_'Iruka-sensei'_ Naruko thought, as she was staring into the campfire. Her memories had gone from her and Kurama training together, to that day she graduated and when Mizuki had tried to steal the scroll. She had been so happy that day, when Iruka acknowledged her. _'I didn't see him after all hell broke loose. Do you think he…?'_

**"He was not present, but most likely he has turned against you as well. I'm sorry I can't give you the answers you want"** Kuruma said.

_'It's ok, Kurama. You're probably right anyway'_ she sighed.

_'Dwelling on those memories… it's probably a bit stupid of me to' _**"NARUKO! BEHIND YOU!"**

She jumped away from her spot at once, as several kunai landed on the ground she just had sat on. Turning around, she could see four masked ninjas in the trees above.

_'Shit! ANBU!'_

* * *

**Author's note:**

**So I have given Naruko the power of Kurama already this early in the story. But I have chosen to add the constraint of her being physically drained by it, so that she won't be too overpowered too early in the story. She will have to train a lot with it, before she reaches the same strength canon Naruto has after achieving his bijuu mode.**

**(1) Yeah, this is basically my attempt of describing the same look that Naruto has when entering bijuu mode in the canon story.**


	5. To take on the ANBU

**Author's Note:**

**I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. I do however own a MacBook pro. Does that help?**

**Different communication and thought patterns:**

"Human speaking"

_'Human thinking'_

**"Bijuu speaking"**

**_'Bijuu thinking'_**

**Thanks to Vandar93 and Windninja1000 for beta reading.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run**

**Chapter 5: To take on the ANBU**

_'Shit! ANBU!'_

She looked at them, as they stood on the branches. They were four, wearing the standard ANBU gear: A grey flak jacket, metal arm guards, black gloves, and the tattoo on their shoulders. And there were their distinct masks. Two had cat masks with different color patterns. One of those had long straight purple hair and was known as Neko. Naruko suspected this could be Uzuki Yuugao. She had met her a few times through Kakashi, and knew that she was skilled in kenjutsu. She had no idea who the others were. The said ANBU had her katana drawn. The other ANBU with the more colored cat mask had brown hair that covered down the entire back head, and one could barely see pieces of his happuri style forehead protector, with its metal covering his chin. The third had a mask of a wolverine, and the fourth had a mask of a human face, as well as a long sleeved jacket with a hood covering his head.

**"Sorry, kit, but they came very fast. I barely sensed them before they attacked. They knew exactly where you were"**

_'But how? Wait, don't tell me I was too careless with the camp fire?!'_

The ANBU with the colored cat mask, who also was the leader of the squad, said with a commanding voice:

"Uzumaki Naruko! On the order of the Godaime Hokage, you are to surrender yourself and come with us! If you do not comply, we will take you by force!"

**"I don't know why, but that one makes me worried. Be careful, Naruko"** Kurama said.

"I'm sorry, but going to Konoha is not what I plan" Naruko replied to the ANBU, as she made the clone seal.

"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)

Suddenly dozens of clones were surrounding the ANBU.

"Scatter!" one of the Narukos yelled, and all the clones turned around and made a run for it.

"You won't get away!" Neko shouted, as the four ANBU followed each their group of clones.

Outrunning them was easier said than done, as the pursuers efficiently took them down, clone by clone. Their memories returned to the real Naruko, who realized quickly that the number of clones were dwindling fast.

After jumping through the trees for a short moment, she landed in an open area in the forest.

_'Did I get away?'_

**"Naruko, to your left!"**

She turned around, and saw the four ANBU in the trees.

_'Kuso! They're good'_ she thought as she gritted her teeth.

**"They are ANBU. They are on a whole different level than those ninjas you fought last time" **Kurama warned.

They jumped down to the ground in front of her, ready to strike.

_'If I can't run away, then I'll have to fight through these'_ she thought as she made the clone seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" she yelled as clones were created, making them 6 altogether.

Two Naruko's stood in the front, and went through several hand seals:

Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu" (Great fireball Technique)

Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake "Fuuton: Daitoppa!" (Great Breakthrough)

"Careful! Her clones can combine ninjutsu" the one with the wolverine mask shouted.

The wind and the fire mixed together to make a powerful fire that covered the area. When the fire died down, she could only see burnt pieces of wood.

_'Shit, Kawarimi!'_ was all Naruko managed to think before the wolverine masked ANBU shot out of the ground, punching one Naruko hard in her guts. At the same time, Neko quickly dashed out of the woods to the left, and cut other two Narukos. They all poofed away in smoke, leaving three more Narukos. Meanwhile two had prepared a rasengan together, while the third jumped further back, preparing to create more clones. The two with the rasengan attacked Neko, but got cut short when the wolverine ANBU performed a fire jutsu:

Snake → Boar → Tiger "Katon: Kaen hōsha-ki" (Flame breath)

He spewed out fire at the two clones, cancelling them out

The said ANBU turned against the remaining Naruko.

Rat → Snake → Tiger "Doton: Doryūha" (Earth Flow Wave)

A wave of earth shot up in front of him, and launched itself against her. She was barely able to jump away.

_'You're freaking kidding me! That would have seriously hurt if I was hit!'_

**"They aim to get you alive, but have to put hard against hard, considering what you pulled off last time."**

_'Yeah, I guess…what the?!'_

Before she knew what was going on, she was surrounded by a horde of insects.

_'Bugs?'_

She looked around, and noticed that the insects were coming from the fourth ANBU, the one with the long sleeved jacket.

**"An Aburame. I see, so that's how they found us. No wonder why we didn't detect them. They can use their insects to do long range reconnaissance without being detected, unless the enemies know what to look for. We didn't watch out for this."**

**"Naruko, they will drain your chakra if they get too close. Do something!"**

Naruko stretched out her hands, with her fingertips high, and concentrated her chakra into her hands. Winds began to gather around her, as she shouted: "Kaze no Yaiba" (Blade of Wind)

**"Baka! Don't use that jutsu!"**

Too late, as the air blades she generated cut through everything around her, both the insect swarm as herself. The insects retreated, so did Naruko as she jumped back.

"OW! Man, that hurts!" she shouted as she took a look on her arms. There were several cuts in them, as well as her upper body, and she was bleeding heavily.

**"You aren't even close to master that jutsu yet! What were you thinking?!"**

_'Oh shut it furball, you told me to do something!'_

**"Not the time for nicknames, kit! Something smart, yes, not that!"**

_'Anyway, can you heal me?'_

**"Already on it, kit!"**

The ANBUs could see that her open wounds began to close, and the bleeding began reducing itself. Neko went in for a strike with her katana.

Naruko quickly formed the clone seal, and created more Kage Bunshin, two of them sacrificed themselves as they caught the attack from the ANBUs blade.

Naruko herself jumped aside, and breathed in, doing the bird seal. She then slammed her stomach.

"Fūton: Renkūdan" (Drilling Air Bullet)

She launched two larger air bullets against the group. Wolverine made a counter attack:

Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger "Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu" (Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)

He launched out fire bolts, and hit both the air bullets, causing smaller explosions.

**"That ANBU seems to specialize in ninjutsu. Be careful."**

_'What about the one that worried you?'_

The said lead ANBU, the one with the colored cat mask and brown hair, had been standing in the back. He was in a battle stance, but had so far not made any moves. Was he a backup?

Additional to Naruko, there were 6 clones. They had already paired up and had prepared a total of 3 rasengans. Each group tried to intercept each of the attacking ANBU. Neko was able to dodge both clones attacking her, using her katana to cut into them both at the same time. Wolverine jumped into the air, throwing a kunai with an explosive tag at them. The clones managed to dodge the explosion, before jumping after the ANBU, but Neko jumped after in high speed and cut through them, and they were cancelled out. The third group managed to land the rasengan on their target, the Aburame, but it dissolved into insects. _'Mushi Bunshin?'_ (Insect clone) the clones managed to think, before the insects covered their bodies, making them dissolve into thin air.

Naruko stood back, and watched the scene. The four ANBU were looking at her, ready to strike. One ANBU had still not made any move, which made Kurama the more concerned.

_'Kuso. These guys are good. I need to bring out the big weapons. Kurama, how long can I go into bijuu mode before I'm drained?'_

**"About 3 minutes. Go beyond that time, and you will reach total exhaustion. Then we will lose the battle, even if we take those four down."**

_'How so?'_

**"If we go into full Kyuubi form, my size will attract other teams. And even if we stick with human form, the battle will surely be noticed by other teams anyway. We need to take them out before our time runs out, then make an escape for it."**

_'You're sure you can't boost me and make it last longer?'_

**"I could, and you would probably not feel it there and then, but it will damage your body. The longer we push it, the more damage there will be. And given the situation, it will not help us."**

_'Kuso!'_ Naruko cursed. But there was no choice. She put her hands into the tiger seal. _'Kurama, let's do it!'_

And at once, she was flashing bright orange, wearing her bijuu chakra coat.

"Careful! Here she comes!" the lead ANBU shouted.

She did the clone seal, and created a Kage Bunshin. It jumped into the ground, while she remained, and prepared a twin rasengan. Creating rasengan in each hand without clones was an ability Naruko had when using Kurama's powers. She then launched herself against Wolverine, passing Neko in high speed.

"She's fast!" the ANBU said, as he as quickly as possible went through the seals:

Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog, then he slammed his hand on the ground. "Doton: Doryūheki" (Earth-Style Wall).

A wall of earth shot up from the ground.

_'It won't stop me' _Naruko thought, as she slammed straight through the earth wall with her twin rasengan.

_'What the heck?'_

There were three identical ANBUs on the other side of the wall, all jumped away at different directions: One to the left, one to the right, and one backwards away from her. She went for the one that jumped backwards, and flew straight into him, connecting the twin rasengan. The ANBU she hit poofed away.

_'Kage bunshin? Shoot! That wall was only to prevent me from seeing which was the real one when he created them.'_

The lead ANBU now made his move. He put his hands in the snake seal, and shouted:

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu!" (Wood release: Smothering Binding Technique)

Immediately, his arm grew into a wooden tree that quickly spun itself around Naruko and restrained her. She felt Kurama's power fluctuate.

**"This is…"** Kurama said.

**"Naruko! Order your clone to get out and break the jutsu!"**

Immediately, the clone Naruko had sent underground shot up from the surface with a twin rasengan, attacking the wood that bound Naruko, and broke it.

As soon as she was freed, the ANBU performed another jutsu.

Tiger → Horse → Tiger → Snake "Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu!" (Wood Release: Great Forest Technique)

He sent out spears of wood from his arm, piercing the clone and dispelling it.

**"Naruko, listen carefully"** Kurama said, getting her attention.

**"That ANBU is able to use mokuton. It is very rare, but it has the ability to bind bijuus."**

_'Bind bijuus?'_

**"Yes. Didn't you notice? As soon as he caught you, our link was disturbed. A little longer, and he could have cancelled the bijuu cloak that is covering you. This is bad."**

**"The Shodaime Hokage was known for his use of mokuton, and it could bind even me. The Shodaime Hokage was also very strong. I don't know how strong that user is, but we can't take any chances. Stay away from his jutsus, and don't even go into full beast mode. That will make us an easier target."**

_'You sound as if you fear him.'_

**"He may be much weaker than the Shodaime, but that is a chance I'm not willing to take"**

_'Figures. They put together the perfect team to hunt us down.'_

Naruko jumped back, as she observed the ANBU in front of her. She needed a plan, fast.

_'Hey, Kurama, I think have an idea'._

**"I'm all ears"**

She made the clone seal, creating eight Kage Bunshin. They were now nine Narukos. Two jumped underground, intending to attack from below. Two were preparing twin rasengans, two went through hand seals, preparing jutsus, and two reached out their arms, sending a large chakra arm each at the ANBU, trying to smash them. The ANBUs dodged the chakra arms, and the lead ANBU was faster than any Narukos with his jutsu.

Tiger → Horse → Tiger → Snake "Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu!" (Wood Release: Great Forest Technique)

He shot out a huge amount of wooden spears at them, growing out from his arm. All Narukos were hit before they managed to finish their jutsus. Some of this also went underground, and impaled one of the underground clones. It was shot out with the wood, as it were cancelled. The other clone shot up from the ground and tried to attack the lead ANBU with a rasengan. The ANBU was prepared, however, and shot out more wooden spears from his other arms, hitting the clone. Only Naruko was left. She clutched her arm, as she had been hit by the attack. It hurt. Then from her right the Aburame attacked her with a punch, trying to hit her head. She managed to dodge it before giving him a hard kick in his stomach, sending him backwards into the trees.

_'Tsk! Should have used a rasengan on that bug guy, but this mokuton-user is getting on my nerves. I can't let my eyes off him.'_

_'If I can't go big on him, then I need someone else to go big on him. Kurama, add your chakra to my next jutsu!'_

She bit her thumb, went through the seals

Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram

and slammed her hand on the ground, yelling "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Summoning Technique)

A huge crashing sound was heard, and the area was covered in smoke. As the smoke subsided, the ANBU could see three gigantic toads. The one in the middle was red, was wearing a large blue happi vest and was carrying a large dosu blade at his hip. This was Gamabunta, the chief toad of Mount Myōboku. Two his sides were Gamaken and Gamahiro. Gamaken was a magenta-colored toad with black markings on his face, and was wearing a black kimono with a white sash and mesh armor underneath. In his hands he had a sakazuki-like shield and a sasumata as weapon. Gamahiro had aquamarine skin tone, and had two huge katanas on his back, held by an orange sash around his stomach.

"Careful, she's brought out the big weapons" Wolverine said.

"Stay calm. According to intelligence, her bijuu powers should run out soon" the lead ANBU said.

Gamabunta was looking around. At first he noticed Naruko standing on top of his head, in blazing orange. Then he spotted the four ANBU on the ground.

_'Naruko fighting Konoha ANBU? What is going on?'_ Gamabunta thought.

"Hey Gaki!" he shouted. "What is the meaning of this? Are you fighting Konoha? Is there a reason you're pitting me against them?" he asked angrily.

"Gama-Oyabun, I'll explain later. I need help right now, I have problems fighting these guys."

Gamabunta looked at them, and was in thought.

"Very well," he sighed, she was his underling after all. "But I will require an explanation from you afterwards" he said, putting his hand on his weapon.

Wolverine began going through hand seals. Gamahiro, seeing this, reached his arm to one of his katanas, pulled it out and slammed the sword on the ground at the ANBU. The ANBU was barely able to dodge the attack, as it crashed on the ground, creating a lot of smoke.

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu!"

Wood shot out from the smoke, split up in smaller branches that began enveloping Gamahiro.

"What the hell?" he said out, surprised.

_'Mokuton. No wonder why the gaki, even with her bijuu powers, called us out' _Gamabunta thought.

"Don't underestimate us!" he shouted, as he unsheathed his weapon and stroke the ground where the wood jutsu came from. It broke off, and Gamahiro broke out of the wood that was constraining him. Gamaken made a jump to the same spot, stabbing his sasumata on the ground where the ANBU where. The crash threw them off. As the smoke began to clear, the lead ANBU had a look around. He noticed that Neko was clutching her arm. It was damaged, probably broken. He looked over to the Aburame. The Aburame nodded his head.

"We'll retreat" the ANBU said. "We don't have the abilities or the summons needed to fight back the toads, and Neko is hurt."

Immediately, they disappeared back into the forest.

"Should we pursue?" Gamaken asked.

"No. We have chased them off, that will have to do until the gaki has done some explaining" Gamabunta replied.

"I'm sorry for being too clumsy" Gamaken muttered.

"Clumsy has nothing to do with it!" Gamabunta replied, annoyed that Gamaken would go about it once again. "Now gaki, tell us what is going on!"

Naruko jumped down. After landing on the ground, she cancelled the bijuu cloak and her link with Kurama. She fell to her knees. She had managed within the time limit, but not much, and it would still take a lot of her. She would have to train a lot in the future in handling Kurama's power, if she were to use this to the fullest potential without severe side effects.

Naruko began to explain that she was at odds with Konoha, and that she was being hunted for a crime. She didn't go much into the details, but explained what would happen if she returned.

Gamabunta didn't like any of this. Not one bit. His loyalty primarily went to the ones who had signed the toad contract, but he also felt a strong loyalty towards Konoha.

"Gaki," he said, "we have helped you for now. But I will have to talk with Jiraiya about this before I will allow you any more support. The same goes for my fellow toads. Understand?"

Naruko was not pleased, but she nodded anyway.

"Well, we're going back. Take care of yourself. Later!"

All three toads poofed away, and returned to Mount Myōboku.

Naruko was exhausted, but still had some energy to go, and Kurama would get her back up in no time.

**- 30 minutes later, somewhere a bit further away -**

Naruko had been wandering deeper into the forest, hoping that the ANBU would be too busy recovering from whatever hurt she and the toads had put on them. Then, she heard rustling in the trees.

_'Kuso! What's wrong with these guys?!'_ she thought as she turned around and faced the same ANBU once again. Three of them were there, Neko was not among them.

"You're not getting away!" the lead ANBU said.

She put her hands in the clone seal, but she was weakened and slowed down, and before she managed to pull of anything, the ANBU had reached his arm out, shooting out wood that quickly enveloped her.

"NO!" she screamed out!

"We have you now!" the ANBU said.

"Let me go!" she yelled out.

No response from any of the ANBU.

"I thought I had got away" she muttered.

"There was no chance" the Aburame said. "Why? Because I put a female bug on your shoulder."

She looked down to her left shoulder, and could barely notice a bug walking around there.

She thought back, and said: "You missed that punch on purpose. You made it look like a punch, in order to drop an insect on my body."

"Correct" the Aburame said. "With males of the same species, we have been tracking you down. After wearing you out, you became an easier target".

Naruko lowered her head. She had been had.

The lead ANBU bound her upper body tightly with his mokuton.

"The mokuton restraint will prevent you from using the Kyuubi's chakra. And I will also notice it if you try to use your own chakra. Try anything, and I will knock you out hard."

"Damn it" she muttered. She had lost.

The lead ANBU turned around to his squad. "Wolverine, pick up Neko and meet with the other teams. Inform them that we have captured the target." He turned to the Aburame, "You, come with me. Keep some of your bugs on her so that she remain weakened."

He put Naruko over his shoulder. Wolverine split with them, heading to where they left Neko for resting. The other two, carrying Naruko, set the course for Konoha.

"Damn it" she once again muttered. But inside herself, she kept repeating these words:

_'Stay awake! Stay awake! Stay awake!'_

**- 22 hours later -**

**- Konoha, inside the interrogation department -**

Naruko was thrown into a prison cell in the interrogation building. The Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, was present, along with several ANBU that had returned from the mission. Hatake Kakashi was also present.

"Mission successful. We have brought back the fugitive, and she is secured" the ANBU said.

"The wood that is binding her needs to remain on her, to prevent her from using the Kyuubi's chakra and escape again".

"Good work" Tsunade said, before turning to Naruko.

"Naruko" she said.

Naruko looked upon her, if looking quite a bit tired from the ordeal.

"You will not get away this time. Early tomorrow morning you will stand trial for your crimes."

Naruko looked upon Tsunade. She had once been close to this woman. She was like a mother figure to her, and she admired her. Now she could only sense hostility and disappointment.

She smirked at Tsunade.

"Sorry, Tsunade" she said, getting the attention of everyone present. She looked over to Kakashi, seeing that he was frowning at her. What was she thinking about now?

"I'm not planning on standing trial tomorrow."

"You think you will get away easily again?" Tsunade responded, sternly.

"I already got away. You see, I'm not really here!"

POOF!

Before anyone could comprehend what she had just said, she disappeared into a pile of smoke, leaving only the wood constraint behind. Everyone was shocked, rendered speechless. Tsunade was the first to snap out of it. She turned to the ANBU team that had captured her.

"D-Don't t-tell me" she stuttered "that the person you captured was actually a Kage Bunshin?!" she finished yelling.

None of the ANBU answered, they were too speechless to that. The lead ANBU finally managed to speak.

"W-we… we didn't know… how?…"

"I see" the Aburame said, with everyone turning to him.

"We didn't account for her abilities with Kage Bunshin. Unlike with other shinobi, her's seem to be able to perform jutsus on their own. After seeing the mokuton jutsus, she must have mixed with the Kage Bunshin and jumped underground. There she must have created a new one. Or she already had one in hiding that she switched places with. We fought a kage bunshin that was able to summon three giant toads on its own. The real one got away while I put my bug on that kage bunshin."

"She fooled us all" the lead ANBU commented, "and we have already recalled all the ANBU teams that were tracking her".

Tsunade sat down in a nearby chair, while massaging her head templates. This week had been one big head ache, and it was just getting worse.

_'A kage bunshin being able to do the entire fight. That is unusual'_ Kakashi thought to himself.

He glanced over to the lead ANBU.

_'I hope you don't get on the bad side of Tsunade-sama though, Tenzo. I guess the lesson is to knock out the prisoner next time, to see if she cancels our or not.'_

**- 21 hours earlier -**

**- In the forest, near the border to the Land of Rivers -**

**"It seems the plan worked so far"** Kurama commented.

**"Remember, that Kage Bunshin you switched with will be supported by the chakra I left with her. But the longer the range, the more difficult it will be for her to stay stable and not dispel. If the ANBU is smart enough to knock her out, it will dispel her as well. All we can do is to believe in her, and hope for luck. I also need you to avoid using Kage Bunshin or any other jutsu for that matter, otherwise we risk disrupting the balance."**

Naruko nodded, as she was lying in cover under a tree, with branches so low it covered her.

**"It was an original idea at least, but don't think you will be able to fool Konoha twice with this trick. Next time we need another plan."**

Naruko agreed.

**"But good thing you shared it with me, otherwise I would have used my chakra to kill any bugs that Aburame had put on you, or that clone."**

_'Good thing he didn't know that, otherwise fooling them would be much harder.'_

She lied in the same position hidden under the tree for a few more hours to rest. She took a look at herself. Her clothes were torn on the legs and the arms, as well as rips on her t-shirt. That incomplete Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind) of hers, as well as all the mokuton attacks had done a nice number on her outfit.

When done resting, she moved on to southwest towards the Land of Rivers. She was hoping to find that country somewhat safer, since running from Konoha like this in the long term likely would mean her death.

* * *

**Author's note:**

**When I decided for ANBU masks, the choice of wolverine was more of a coincidence. I was thinking more of the animal, than the actual character from the MARVEL universe, and I didn't want to reuse dog (since that has typically been Kakashi in other fanfictions). Wolverine is first and foremost a wild carnivorous animal.**


	6. Treason

**Author's Note:**

**I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.**

**Different communication and thought patterns:**

"Human speaking"

_'Human thinking'_

**"Bijuu speaking"**

**_'Bijuu thinking'_**

**Thanks to Vandar93 and Windninja1000 for beta reading.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Uzumaki Naruko: Exile on the run**

**Chapter 6: Treason**

Naruko was walking along a road in the Land of Rivers. The area was surrounded with grass plains. She was covered by a gray hooded cloak that she had stolen along with some clothes from the previous village she had stumbled into. She was not proud of it, having to lower herself into stealing. But she did what she had to do to survive, and the previous fight with the ANBU made it necessary for her to change whatever was left of her wardrobe. Maybe the ugly clothes she was wearing beneath the cloak would make up for it. Light blue short pants and a pink t-shirt. Oh, how much she hated that color. She had to admit that Sakura could have fit better into these. Herself, on the other hand… this was really not her.

In her hand, she held a note that said:

_Meet me in the bar in the town called Okura. We need to talk._

_- The gallant one_

**"Naruko, this is foolish"** Kurama said.

Naruko said nothing, as she followed the road and could see Okura town in the horizon.

**"You know that this might be a trap."**

'I know, Kurama. But it's him of all people. Somehow I just have this feeling… I need to do this.'

Kurama sighed.

**"Fine. I know you have a soft spot for that person. But remember, everyone so far has turned against you. Don't tell me I didn't warn you if this goes badly."**

Naruko sighed. She knew that Kurama was right, and that this could be a trap, but she had to know.

_'I'll try to be ready for anything'_

**"Try is not good enough now. In everything you do, you have to pull it off at first attempt, or else it's over. Don't forget your situation."**

After a while of walking, she entered the town she was headed for. Looking around, she saw the bar she was heading for. Normally, only adults would go to places like these to get drunk, but a ninja was considered adult when becoming genin, so she wouldn't let that stop her. Plus, she could easily sneak in if needed.

She entered the building, and took a seat at the bar.

The bartender looked at the cloaked figure that sat close by. Seeing part of her face, he said: "No children allowed!" Naruko scowled at him, and let out a slight K.I. The bartender figured that one probably shouldn't mess with this child, so he left her alone. She was sitting there for quite a while, and nothing happened.

Then someone sat down beside her.

"I see my messenger toad found you. Were you followed?" he asked.

"I don't think so" she replied.

He looked over at the entrance, and a man with long brown hair that gave a nod back, before disappearing.

"He works for you?" Naruko asked.

"Yes, he does. I had some of my spies monitor this town for Konoha and Suna activity after you fled. That one is good at detecting hidden ninjas, even ANBU. I trust him."

"How do you know he's not going to go behind your back and turn me in?" Naruko asked, being very cautious.

"Gaki, many of my spies answer to me only. Don't worry. Now, would you like something to eat?"

She nodded. "I'd like some Miso Pork Ramen, if they have any."

He turned to the bartender.

"Bartender, tell your chef to make Miso Pork Ramen for my friend here. And bring me a bottle of saké, please."

"Understood." the bartender said, before moving into the kitchen.

"Now, gaki, will you tell me what happened?"

"What is the point, Jiraiya?" Naruko answered back, looking up at him.

Jiraiya flinched a little when she said his name. For years the spy master of Konoha had been incredible annoyed by Naruko, as she always would call him 'Ero-Sennin' in public. "Gaki, my name is Jiraiya! Jiraiya!" he would say. That she now of all times called him by his name was by itself a sign of how badly serious things were for the young girl.

"Didn't Tsunade show you the evidence when you came back?"

_'So 'Bachan' is also gone?'_ he thought, as he looked sideways at his cloaked friend.

"She did. The evidence was… devastating… to say at least" he sighed.

"But I wanted to hear from yourself. I want to hear what you have to say"

"What difference does it make?" she said quietly, looking down on the bar desk in front of her.

"There is no way I will be able to convince you otherwise, or anyone else."

"Try me!" Jiraiya said with a smirk. She looked sideways at him. What was he up to?

She didn't say anything else for a while, neither did he. The bartender returned with a bottle of saké and a cup to Jiraiya, and after a short while Naruko received a bowl of ramen.

_'Not as good as Ichiraku's' _she thought, _'But I'm so hungry anyway that I'll gladly eat anything'_

She sat there and ate her food silently. Jiraiya had ordered one more bowl for her, since he figured she would be quite hungry. He looked over at her, and scoffed at the sight. He remembered a girl with a happy smile, that always would enjoy her ramen like she was in heaven. Even if it wasn't Ichiraku. A girl that was happy at moments like these, in spite of how difficult her life was. A girl that would laugh. Now he could only see a girl who was at constant alert, keeping tab on the situation around her, and would look at him with suspicion. The smile was long gone. He couldn't blame her for that, she was being hunted after all, and all that used to make her happy were no more.

Meanwhile, Kurama was observing. He was pushing his senses to the limit, trying to detect any danger around. If the food was poisoned, he would heal her, but nevertheless this was a foolish decision. If it was up to him, he would have stayed away from this town. He was tempted to take control over Naruko's body and get her out of here, but she was the only human alive that he truly respected, and he decided to leave her to her free will. Trusting the hermit was a foolish idea, but he would not bicker about it.

"Listen," Jiraiya said as he drank his cup of saké, "sometimes things are not what they always seem to be."

Naruko looked sideways at Jiraiya, as she was going through her second bowl of ramen.

"I have rented room at a nearby hotel. When you are done eating, we will go there and we will talk. I want to hear everything."

Naruko turned around and looked at him. Was he serious?

When she was done swallowing down the last of her food, Jiraiya paid the bartender, and they left for the hotel. They passed a club where young women would keep men with company. Men who paid, that were. A few of them called for Jiraiya.

"Please, mister, come and spend some good time with us!"

Jiraiya turned around and waved them off, saying "Sorry ladies, but today is not a really good day. Perhaps another time". He didn't even sport his perverted smile.

The ladies pouted, and frankly Naruko was shocked. This was the first time Jiraiya, the famous pervert, had turned down ladies trying to seduce him. Was he someone else in henge? Kurama soon disconfirmed that, his chakra was the same.

They got to the hotel, and went to the room Jiraiya had rented. He had rented for one person, so it was not that big. It had a bed, a chair and a small table at the chair. The room also had one window. This would have to do.

She sat down onto his bed, taking off the grey cloak she had enveloped herself with.

"Pink huh?" Jiraiya said, seeing her t-shirt, that also sported a heart pattern. "You should try being more girly, Naruko, it would suit you well" he said teasingly.

A tick mark showed up on her head, but she managed to keep calm.

"Shut up…" she muttered. Jiraiya sighed disappointedly, he had at least hoped to rile her up a little, like she would be in the old days.

He sat down in the chair.

"Ok, gaki, I want to hear it all. Tell me everything. And forget everything about that evidence for a moment. Tell me like that didn't matter. Tell me what YOU saw" he said, with emphasis on 'you'.

Naruko sighed. What was the point?

_'Oh well'_, she thought _'I don't have anything to lose anyway. Here goes nothing.'_

* * *

**Flashback**

**- 1 week earlier -**

**- Konoha -**

It was early in the morning, and Naruko, Sasuke and Sakura was heading back to town from training field 7. They had stayed overnight out there bond more with each other as friends and team.

Naruko was wearing a black t-shirt and orange pants, Sakura was wearing her usual red qipao dress and green shorts, and Sasuke was wearing his blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back, and white shorts.

Naruko yawned.

"What, dobe, didn't sleep enough? Was the night too cold for you?" Sasuke asked teasingly.

"Shut up, teme. I was looking at the stars" she responded. Naruko loved gazing at the stars when the sky was clear during night. She had been awake a little too long this night because of it. Not that it made much difference, since they they all had been. They had been sitting late around their camp fire and talked all night.

Naruko loved spending time with her teammates, Sakura was just happy to stay up all night with Sasuke (and Naruko), and Sasuke was… well… he was just Sasuke. But oh heck, the night was satisfying.

"Ne, we should do this soon again" Sakura said. "I love spending time with my Sasuke-kun" she chirped.

A tick mark appeared on Sasuke's head.

"Dream on, pinky," Naruko remarked "Don't you see that Sasuke will choose me?"

Another tick mark appeared on Sasuke's head.

"WHAT WAS THAT, NARUKO-BAKA?!" Sakura screeched back, with a furious face.

A third tick mark appeared on Sasuke's head.

Naruko wasn't really that interested in Sasuke, she just loved teasing Sakura with this topic. Sakura actually knew that, but she couldn't help getting pissed off every time Naruko made such a claim. Sakura was a little too much in love with him for that. Poor Sasuke was always caught in the crossfire between Naruko's teasing and Sakura's short fuse over this issue.

"Hn!" Sasuke said, moving on.

But though they didn't always seem so, the team was a professional one and they deeply cared for each other. They were comrades.

But as they got closer to the village, four ANBU guards suddenly appeared in front of team 7, stopping them.

"Uzumaki Naruko, on the orders of the Godaime Hokage, you are to come with us immediately. Come peacefully!" one of them ordered.

Needless to say, all the three genin were speechless. Why would the Hokage send ANBU after Naruko?

"Uh…okay…" Naruko muttered before following them, with two in her front and two behind her. They were escorting her? What was going on?

One of the ANBU guards turned towards Sasuke and Sakura, and said:

"The Hokage also orders you two to come with us, immediately."

Sakura and Sasuke nodded, and followed the group. Sakura face palmed.

"Ugh, that Naruko… I warned her that the pranking of hers would get her into serious trouble one day. Now she's dragged us into it as well" she remarked.

"Sakura, this may be more serious than that. The Hokage has to be professional. She wouldn't send ANBU after Naruko for a prank, no matter how insulted she would have been" Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded. _'Please, let everything be ok.'_

As they reached outside the Hokage building, two more ANBU guards showed up. Sakura and Sasuke were ordered to go with one each. They were taken into the building.

_'Naruko, please be alright!'_ Sakura thought, as deep worry had entered her.

**- Office of the Hokage -**

As Naruko entered the office, she could see two more ANBU guards present, as well as Morino Ibiki from the T&I department, a Hyuga, and Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, both from the Konoha council.

Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was sitting at her desk with hands folded in front of her lower face. What really disturbed Naruko were Tsunade's eyes. They had always been warm towards her after she returned to Konoha to become Hokage, but now they seemed rather cold and calculative. Several scrolls was lying on the office desk.

_'What is going on?'_ Naruko thought frightened, _'Why are there so many ANBU here, and the councilors? What is wrong with Tsunade-no-Bachan?'_

"Naruko" Tsunade said, her voice being monotone. "Do you know why you are here?"

"N-Not really, no" she stuttered.

Tsunade nodded to one of the ANBU guards present. This one had short dark hair, and a dog mask. He picked up one of the scrolls on the table, and handed it over to her.

"Uzumaki Naruko, do you know what this is?" he asked.

She opened the scroll, and began to read it. As she kept reading, she quickly realized this scroll contained military information about Konoha.

"It looks like a scroll with military intelligence, regarding Konoha. What does this have to do with me?" Naruko asked. She noticed at the same time that the Hyuga was having his Byakugan active, monitoring her.

"The scrolls you see on Hokage-sama's desk are part of a larger collection that we found last night. For months someone has been smuggling military intelligence out of Konoha. We believe Kirigakure is involved. We managed to catch a ninja with Kiri equipment last night" the ANBU explained.

"He was caught in your apartment" the ANBU said.

"My apartment?!" Naruko shouted. "What was he doing there?"

"You tell us" the ANBU said. "We were at first surprised that the trails led to your apartment, but when we captured the perpetrator we found a secret room behind your kitchen, where a considerable amount of the stolen the intelligence was stored."

Naruko froze when she heard this. "Wh-What?" she barely managed to stutter. Even Kurama was taken aback at what had just been said.

**_'This is not good' _**the fox thought.

Naruko couldn't believe it. Had someone been hiding military information in her apartment for… how long?

"Naruko" Tsunade said lowly. "What have you to say for yourself?"

"You think I was involved?" she asked, shocked.

"The experts we have consulted so far have pointed out that the storage room must have been there for years" the ANBU continued "And there is no way you could not have known about it when it has been used for storing stolen military secrets for months."

"N-No! I didn't do it!" Naruko shouted, as she could feel panic rising inside her.

**"Kit! Calm yourself down!" **Kurama roared, as he broke out of his own shock. **"If you lose it here, it will not help you. Keep yourself calm!"**

Naruko took a deep breath and tried to do as Kurama instructed. Easier said than done.

"I've been busy the lasts months with missions and training with Sasuke and Sakura. Ask them!"

"It can't be helped" Koharu interjected. She had been silent until now. "As we are speaking, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura are being questioned by our ANBU, to shed more light on what has been going on. Normally we would take any alibi they may give into consideration. However, Uzumaki Naruko, you are known for using the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to its fullest, and you can easily use it to do your own private dealings while you at the same time are together with your team. In your case any alibi that is given is worthless."

**"Incredible… Leave it to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to backfire at us"** Kurama scoffed.

"Please! I'm innocent!" Naruko pleaded. "Have Ino or another Yamanaka search my mind! They will see in my memories that I am innocent!"

"That is not an option" Homura answered. "You are the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. There is no telling what will happen if a Yamanaka enters your mind. It is considered dangerous, and we do not know if the Kyuubi can affect the memories by giving us false ones. The evidence that is before you is sufficient alone to convict you."

_'Kurama! Switch with me! Tell them that you will do no harm!'_ Naruko said in her mind to the fox.

Kurama shook his head.

**"I'm sorry Kit, but it will not help. They will not trust me, and will think that I'm only interested in my own well being by helping you."**

Naruko dropped her face towards the ground. The feeling of fear was surging inside her. Tsunade turned to the Hyuga, who deactivated his Byakugan.

"Except from the apparent fear in her face, I see no other possible indications that she is lying or trying to cover up something, Hokage-sama" the Hyuga said.

"However, I have to agree with Homura-dono. The evidence itself contradicts any sign of innocence. I would understand her reaction if she is a normal ninja, but a well-seasoned spy may very well hide most signs and feign innocence."

"Tsunade-no-Bachan, please!" Naruko pleaded, barely able to hold her tears back.

Tsunade stood up. Naruko could tell what she thought by the look in her eyes, the look of anger and deep disappointment.

_'She…she doesn't believe me?'_

"Uzumaki Naruko" Tsunade said sternly, but coldly. "You are charged for high treason by aiding in giving away our secrets to our enemies. You are stripped of you rank as a shinobi. ANBU, take her to a cell in the interrogation department. Make sure you restrain her chakra. Ibiki, as soon as Anko returns from her mission tonight you two will interrogate her for more information."

"Tsunade-no-Bachan…" Naruko whispered, as tears began falling down her face.

"Take her away" Tsunade ordered.

**- Outside the Hokage building -**

Meanwhile a huge crowd of people had gathered outside the Hokage building. Among them were Naruko's friends, including Team 8, Team 10, Team Gai and Konohamaru with his friends.

"Is it true?" someone asked in the crowd.

"Has the demon finally showed her true colors and turned against us?"

"I hear she was involved in stealing military secrets and giving them to our enemies" another one said.

_'Shit'_ Tsunade thought as she looked outside the window._ 'Someone has leaked what happened tonight'_

Sasuke and Sakura had just been dismissed from their questioning, and came out. Their friends walked quickly up to them as soon as they were out.

"Sakura, Sasuke, what is going on?" Shikamaru asked.

"I-Is Naruko-chan ok?" Hinata asked, worried for her friend.

They had just heard the rumors about her being involved in treason, but needed to hear from Sakura and Sasuke directly. They got no response. They could only see looks of pure shock and disbelief in Sakura's and Sasuke's faces.

"Sh…She…" Sasuke muttered.

The next moment Naruko was brought outside the building, with her hands tied up behind her and with ANBU escorting her. The sight was revealing enough for most people, anyone who had committed a serious crime would be transported like this.

"The demon did it!" one villager shouted.

"Serves her well!" another shouted. "She should have been thrown into prison years ago!"

"Finally!"

"Kill the demon!"

"Make her suffer!"

Several villagers cheered at the sight, while others shouted demon at her.

Naruko searched franticly among the crowd, to see if she could see her friends. She soon spotted them. Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Shikaramu, Choji, Ino, Neji, Lee, Tenten, Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi. As her eyes moved from person to person, she could see disbelief, shock and anger.

"Why?" Hinata whispered.

"Naruko! How could you?!" Ino shouted, with tears running from her eyes.

Then she saw Sakura and Sasuke.

"Why, Naruko? Why did you do it?" Sakura asked crying.

_'They…they think I did it!'_ Naruko thought, horrified.

**"Sakura and Sasuke were taken in for questioning as well. They must have been shown that 'evidence'"** Kurama remarked.

She looked over to Sasuke

"Naruko…" he muttered.

"Sasuke!" she shouted back.

"Naruko!" he shouted, as she could see the rage in his eyes.

"How could you do this? How could you betray us?! How could you betray…me?!" he shouted, with a voice louder than the crowd. Naruko could swear she was seeing tears forming in his eyes.

He turned around to run away.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted, as she ran after him.

"No, Sasuke! Wait! I didn't do it!" Naruko shouted, as she desperately tried to break free to run after him. "I'm innocent! You have to bel…"

She was cut short as one of the ANBU chopped her neck with his hand, causing her to fall on her knees.

"Silence! Now move along!" he ordered, while two ANBU guards moved into the crowds to disperse them.

Naruko was forced along, dizzy and in pain because of that chop.

**- 10 hours later -**

**- A prison cell in the interrogation department -**

Naruko was sitting there in her cell. She simply could not believe what was happening. This morning she had returned from their training field with her team, after spending the night together there. Everything was fine, then suddenly ANBU brought her to the office, where she was accused for a crime she had nothing to do with. It didn't help that neither Tsunade-no-Bachan or any of her friends believed her. And Sasuke… that rage in his eyes…

Before throwing her into this cell, they had put a chakra restraining seal on her neck. The process itself was painful, as she had screamed out in pain when the ANBU activated the seal. She would not be able to perform ninjutsu or use her chakra otherwise.

Now she was sitting untied on the ground, with her back towards the wall opposite to the bars of her cell. There was a bench on the side wall, but she didn't bother sitting there. Her eyes were red and puffy from all the crying she had done.

"Leave us" she heard a familiar voice. She looked up, and saw the two ANBU guards leave the cell area as Hatake Kakashi, her sensei, walked up to the outside of the cell bars. Normally visitors would not be able to command any ANBU to leave them, but Kakashi was well respected since his days as ANBU, and they would comply when he ordered it.

She looked at him, and could see deep disappointment in his visible eye.

"You think I did it…" she muttered.

"Well, the evidence says so. It was found in your apartment along with a Kiri ninja, and I have been looking over it."

He was silent for a moment, before he continued:

"Naruko, I'm deeply disappointed in you."

"I didn't do it!" she said back. "Why would I even do such a thing? I'm dreaming of becoming Hokage, and I care for my friends!"

"I'm not interested in your motives, and it makes little difference for what has been done" Kakashi said.

Naruko looked on the ground. No one said anything for a few minutes.

"What will happen to me now?" she asked.

"Aside from Ibiki and Anko interrogating you?" Kakashi replied "Normally you would get prison for many years, maybe for life if what you have done is serious enough."

"Normally?" she asked, looking up at him.

Kakashi sighed.

"Naruko, I have a few sources from inside the council. They were gathered earlier today to discuss the discovery from last night."

Kakashi was silent.

"The evidence is more than enough to convict you for treason, and the council has voted for a different punishment."

Naruko dreaded what she knew was coming.

"They are going to have the Kyuubi extracted from you, and put it into a different host as soon as you are convicted" Kakashi finished.

"Death…" Naruko whispered back.

Kakashi said nothing, and turned around to leave. He stopped at the exit door, and stood there for some moments.

On one hand he felt deep grief for his student, but on the other hand she was a traitor, and he would not sympathize with someone who had betrayed their comrades.

"I'm sorry it has come to this, Naruko" he said, without turning his head, before finally leaving.

"Kakashi-sensei…" she muttered. She then stood up and ran to the bars.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" she screamed out, as her tears once again began falling from her eyes.

She fell on her knees and kept crying. Her own sensei had turned against her and left her to her fate. Everyone else had as well.

**- 30 minutes later -**

**"Are you done now?"** she heard Kurama say, referring to her crying.

**"Listen, it's time we break out"**

_'Break out?'_

**"Naruko, remember the plan we discussed earlier. I am done analyzing the seal that was put on your neck. As soon as you are ready I will break that seal, and we will break out of here. We need to go to bijuu mode immediately. Kill the guards and break through the wall."**

Naruko nodded. The seal that was put on her neck was to restrict her chakra, but neither the Hokage nor anyone else in the leadership knew about her ability to use Kurama's power.

**"Naruko, I know you are upset with me not lending you my voice when the Hokage questioned you, but there was one more important reason for this: It would have given us away. Had they realized that we are working together, they would have used a more powerful seal to restrict our chakra. Chances are that we would not be able to go into bijuu mode and break out"**

Naruko wiped any remaining tears in her face. There was no point in waiting any longer. Ibiki and Anko could be here any moment.

**"Naruko, you need to be aware of one thing: As soon as we escape, things will never be the same. Whoever framed you for that crime is good, and we may never be able to prove that you are innocent as things are now. You will be on the run, maybe for the rest of your life. Can you live with this?"**

_'Let's… just… get this over with'_

**"Good. I was hoping you are up to it. I prefer to have to deal with you than any other host anyway."**

She put her hands into the tiger seal. The nearby ANBU guard noticed it, and turned towards her.

"What do you think you are doing? We put a seal on your neck that restricts use of your chakra" he said.

She looked upon the guard.

"My chakra, yes" she remarked "But not his!"

Instantly, she flared up bright orange, as the seal on her neck quickly dissolved. Before the guard realized what was going on, she flew straight at him, breaking through the cell bars in the process. She pierced his chest with her arm, using the Kyuubi's chakra to break through, killing him. She did the same to the other guard, who had no time to react. She turned to the wall, and punched through it with a size-enhanced chakra arm. She escaped through the opening, and went straight for the closest section of the village's wall to escape.

* * *

**End flashback**

**- Present time -**

**- Jiraiya's hotel room -**

"I managed to escape Konoha in the confusion that arose after I broke out of the cell" Naruko continued, as Jiraiya was sitting there and listening to her.

"I deactivated the bijuu cloak as soon as I was outside the wall, and just ran. I ran all I could. I used Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu several times to throw off the teams that were tracking me. Still, one team was able to catch up to me. I think they were one jounin and three chuunin."

She stopped. Her breathing began to shake.

"I… used Kurama's power, and I… I kill… I killed them" she whispered "I needed to defend myself, and buy myself more time… But I killed them. It felt so horrible. They were my comrades from Konoha, and I killed them. It was then I realized how bad the situation is."

"I began thinking of all my memories of my precious people back at Konoha, and my dreams of becoming Hokage. I thought of Sasuke… Of Sakura… Hinata… Tsunade-no-bachan… Konohamaru… Everyone… Everything… And I realized more and more that everything has been taken away from me. There and then, I just wanted to die, and I collapsed on the ground. It was so painful. It still is."

She continued slowly.

"I am an enemy of Konoha, and all my friends… all my precious people… are gone from me. My dream of becoming Hokage is no more. All my work has been for nothing. I have nothing left… Kurama is right. I will be on my run for the rest of my life, without being able to prove that I am innocent."

She just wanted to cry at this point, it hurt so much as she was telling this, but she had already cried so much during her flight that she had no more tears to shed.

"The only reason I continued was because Kurama managed to reach through to me and convinced me to keep going. But what am I going to do now?"

She looked upon Jiraiya. Until now he had been sitting and listening carefully. He had a sad expression in his face.

"And what are you going to do now, now that you have heard my side?" she asked him, as she looked down on the ground again.

"Are you going to take me back to Konoha?"

Jiraiya sighed, as he rose up and walked over to the window. No one said anything for minutes, before he finally responded.

"I'm not taking you back to Konoha," he said.

Naruko jerked up her head and looked at him.

"What? Not?" she asked, trying to find out if she had been hearing correctly.

"Naruko, I believe you have been seriously wronged" he said, as he looked back at her.

Naruko could not believe the words she just had heard.

_'He… believes me?'_

"W-Why? How?" she managed to choke out.

"I can't prove to you that I'm innocent!"

"Yes, that evidence was convincing. Everyone I have spoken with, including Tsunade, thinks you did it. But you know that I have a spy network I'm operating, and throughout my life I have seen some nasty things myself. And you are not the type to betray your comrades, Naruko"

"But that's what they thought of Itachi before he murdered the entire Uchiha clan!" she pointed out.

"Why do you think I am any different?"

"Why not?" he answered back, smirking.

"Since no one else believed you, it will be up to me to have faith in you."

Naruko was shocked beyond belief.

_'K-K-Kurama, is he sincere?'_

**"I don't sense any deceit from him"** he confirmed.

**"I have to say I am surprised myself. This is indeed unbelievable…"**

"But what about Konoha? What about Tsunade? You'll become their enemy as well!"

Jiraiya sighed.

"That's some of the catch, gaki, and it may very well turn out to be a foolish choice. But I am the one who chooses who to believe."

A tear fell down Naruko's face. Before Jiraiya knew it, Naruko jumped at him and hugged him, throwing her arms around his chest, crying tears she didn't know she still had. Jiraiya embraced her and let her cry out. She was happy because there was someone who believed her, but there was also the pain for everything that was taken away from her. He let her sob on his chest for a long time.

**- Next morning -**

Jiraiya was packing a backpack that Naruko would be carrying for her coming journey.

"I'm sorry that I can't come with you, gaki" Jiraiya said. "But if I am to have any chance to prove that you are innocent, I need to stay in Konoha and investigate."

"It's fine, Ero-Sennin" she answered back. Jiraiya could not but help but smile a bit at hearing the nickname. It seemed that he managed to bring back some of her old self.

"The backpack contains soldier pills, scrolls and some spare clothes. You are a fuuton-user, so I have added some more fuuton jutsus among the scrolls, but I have included some other elements, should you unlock them. I have added fuinjutsus as well, and also some medical ninjutsu."

"Medical ninjutsu?" Naruko asked puzzled. "You know that I don't have enough chakra control for medical ninjutsu?"

"Who said it was for you?" Jiraiya answered. "And who has said that you will always be traveling alone? Naruko, I believe you will find new comrades on your journey, and the medical ninjutsus are meant for any of them that has good enough chakra control."

"That's very optimistic of you, but who will join an S-ranked fugitive?" she asked.

"You'll be surprised of what life sometimes can offer. I just hope the surprises are good ones" he replied.

"I'll also have a talk with Gamabunta, and try to convince him to have his toads support you whenever you need it."

Naruko had put on her gray cloak, and picked up the backpack.

"Naruko…" Jiraiya said, getting her attention.

"You have a very long journey before you, and it will be difficult from now on. But I want you to promise me something: Promise me that in spite of everything you will live your life as an honorable shinobi. And promise me that you will find a new dream to live for. A dream that is as great as Hokage, if not greater."

Naruko nodded "I promise, Ero-Sennin. With all I am, and with all my abilities, I will do my best to live honorable. And I will find a new dream."

Jiraiya smiled, as he could see that some of her determination had returned. He took out a scroll from his pocket, and handed it over to her.

"Here." he said. "When you have been traveling for a few hours, I want you to open this scroll and read it"

She nodded, as she accepted the scroll.

"Well, I guess this is it, Ero-Sennin" Naruko said.

"Will I ever see you again?" she asked.

"I hope so, gaki" he answered.

"Bye…" she said, as she left the hotel room, to begin on the journey that was ahead of her.

"Take care, gaki" he said.

**- Four hours later -**

**- With Naruko -**

Naruko had taken a stop at the road she was traveling along. So far she had not run into any Suna teams, but she figured that she should travel through the nearby forest. She would need to hunt sooner or later, so why not now? She sat down at some rocks, and took out the scroll Jiraiya had given. She opened it, and began to read.

_Naruko._

_You have a long and perilous journey before you. Konoha are doing what they can to track you down. Then there's also Akatsuki. I've recently learned that they will be preparing for years before hunting and capturing the jinchuuriki. They won't come for you for about 3 or 4 years. However, when they learn that you are no longer in Konoha, they might come for you earlier. Let us hope for the best. You have to train yourself while you travel, both in using the Kyuubi's powers as well as your own. Do what you can to prepare yourself._

_I'm sorry that I can't go with you and protect you from them anymore, but I will do my best in order to prove you're innocent, and I have faith in your abilities, as well as your bijuu's. Keep on the move, and you'll stay safe._

_And remember your promise: Live an honorable life as a shinobi, and find a new and great dream to live for._

Naruko paused for a moment.

_'Kurama, did Ero-Sennin write this last night?'_

**"No, he was asleep as you were. Or, at least he tried. Sleeping on the floor seemed to keep him awake."**

_'Was he planning to support me already from before hearing me out?'_ she wondered.

_'And why didn't he rent a room for two instead?'_

**"Why leave behind possible clues of meeting you, in case someone would trail him?"**

_'Good point'_

She continued reading:

_Finally, I also would like to reveal a secret regarding your legacy. When we headed out to search for Tsunade, I told you that I picked you for the training because you somewhat resembled the Yondaime Hokage in looks. The truth is that you resemble him more than just in looks. Your father was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, and your mother was Uzumaki Kushina, known as the Akai Chishio no Habanero (Red-Hot Habanero)._

_Minato was my student, and he was a genius that was devoted to his village and his friends. He was deadly, yet he was also warm to his friends. Imagine how proud I was when he made Hokage in the youngest age ever. And Kushina, I would say that you have inherited her playful nature, as well as some of her temper. One of the most friendly and cheerful persons I've ever met. That is, if you didn't get on her bad side. Boy, did she have a fierce temper. There was a reason that she got her nickname._

_I know this info might be shocking for you, but know that they loved you and were really looking forward to become your parents. It's such a shame that they died the night you were born. Sarutobi-sensei made your legacy an S-rank secret for your own protection, since your father had many great enemies, so please understand. But since you are no longer in Konoha, there is no reason to keep the truth away from you. You have a great legacy to live up to, and I hope that you will truly honor your mother's name in mastering fuinjutsu, and your father's name by becoming a splendid shinobi._

_At last, the most important thing you will need for your journey is the guts to never give up. You have never been the one to give up, and I hope you will still keep that guts of yours. I believe in you. You'll find the first book I ever wrote in your backpack. I hope it will inspire you on your journey._

_Find new friends to travel with, and find a new dream that is worthy. I wish you luck._

_- Jiraiya_

_PS! Don't let Tsunade or anyone else know that I gave you this letter, or she'll kill me!_

_PPS! Actually, just burn up this letter at once you're done reading it. It will be so much simpler._

Naruko could not help but chuckle when she read about her parents.

_'Oh, Ero-Sennin… Kurama told me about my parents' years ago. I already know that I have a great legacy, and I'm proud of being their child. I can't just wait until I see your face when I tell you this. If I see you again…'_

She dug her hand into her backpack, and found the said book.

_'Dokonjō Ninden (Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi)?'_ she read.

_'Doesn't sound like the other smut he usually writes.'_

She looked over at the entrance of the nearby forest, as she packed down the book and the scroll.

**"You do know, kit, that the promise you made to the hermit will only last as long as reality allows it? I know you never give up and sometimes you have proven me wrong, and I admit that having that hermit supporting you was among the last things I ever expected. But know that idealism often backs off when facing reality."**

_'Oh, Kurama, the ever pessimistic fox' _Naruko remarked.

_'I know that you think it's stupid, but as long I have someone that believes in me, it will be enough for now.'_

**"Are you saying that my support is not enough?"**

_'Oh, it helped me keep going, but now I have someone else as well' _she smiled.

_'To live honorable, and find a new dream'_ she contemplated, as she kept walking, entering the forest, to once again vanish from the visible sight along the road.

Once a proud shinobi of Konoha, now an exile on the run, journeying into the unknown.

_'Will I be able to do it?'_

* * *

**Author's note:**

**So there it is, the backstory that forced Naruko to flee. I realize that I by this point might have built up quite an expectation among you readers regarding her backstory. If you are not satisfied, then I apologize.**

**My goal for this fiction is not to have a brilliant backstory that would fit well into NCIS or CSI:Miami, but first and foremost it is about Naruko (fem Naruto) on the run/exiled, who have to rebuild her life from scratch. (OK, the better the backstory, the better the overall story, but this is the idea I got).**


End file.
